Consistency Is Next Goal After Upset Victory

The gloom enveloping Staples Center has slowly begun to fade, cheers have replaced stony silence, in the case of the Lakers, and thunderous boos, in the case of the Clippers. Both teams have miles to run before they can say they are where they expected to be when the season began, however.

A journey to a fourth NBA championship, for the Lakers, and a trip toward a winning record, for the Clippers, begins with a single step. Both teams appear to have made significant strides recently, with the Lakers perhaps a bit ahead of their hallway rivals on the eve of their second meeting of the season.

The Lakers have won five of six, losing Friday only when Steve Francis dropped a career-best 44 points on them during an overtime victory. The Clippers took a 112-107 victory Saturday over the Pacific Division-leading Sacramento Kings, their most significant win of the season but only their third in their last 11 games.

“Two weeks ago, we were both right there in the same boat,” Clipper power forward Elton Brand said. “Now, they’re almost in the playoff picture again. They are definitely a model to show us that it can be done.”

The Lakers’ troubles could be linked to the absence of Shaquille O’Neal, whose slow recovery from off-season toe surgery threatened to derail their season. Only now do they look complete again.

The Clippers’ troubles, beyond the well-chronicled uncertainty of free agents such as Brand, center Michael Olowokandi and point guard Andre Miller, also could be tied to injuries. Only Saturday, with Lamar Odom back on the floor after an 11-month absence because of wrist and ankle injuries, did the Clippers resemble a whole team.

“Right now, we’re up and down,” Brand said. “We were feeling good after we won two [over Memphis and Seattle], then played Dallas to the end [but lost], then there was the Minnesota thing, then Sacramento. How we play [tonight] will determine how we’ll do the next couple of weeks. If we play well, we’ll have confidence.”

In many ways, the Clippers’ last two games have typified their season. Their identity remains unclear. Are they the listless squad that lost to Minnesota by 31 points Wednesday? Or are they the polished team that staved off the Kings down the stretch Saturday?

“I think the whole thing for us is we’ve got to establish some consistency,” Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said. “We’ve got to know what we’re going to get night in and night out. It’s the way we rebound. It’s the way we play defense.”

Gentry sees the Lakers gaining the consistency he wants.

“I don’t know how everybody suddenly forgot that they have won the NBA championship the last three years,” he said of the Lakers. “Obviously, I think they’re playing better. They went to Houston and it took a career game from Steve Francis to beat them in overtime.”

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Miller joined the Clippers for Sunday’s practice. His stepfather, Albert Robinson, died Friday after a long battle against cancer. Miller left after the workout to be with his mother.

“He’s very quiet, a very private person,” Gentry said of Miller. “I told him that if there was anything he or his family needs, we’ll be here for him. It’s a difficult situation for him, but people handle things differently. For him, for his grieving, he felt he needed to be here. I’m not sure I could have been here under those circumstances.”

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TONIGHT

Clippers at Lakers, 7, TNT

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- KLAC (570), XTRA (1150), KWKW (1330, Spanish).

Records -- Lakers 18-21, Clippers 15-24.

Season series -- Lakers, 1-0.

Update -- The Lakers have won 116 of 154 games against the Clippers, including the first game this season Nov. 1. The Lakers are 5-1 against the Clippers as the home team at Staples Center.