Clippers Lose Down South

The Clippers remained hapless in Atlanta, losing to the Hawks for the eighth time in a row there Monday night, 95-86.

In losing for the ninth time in their last 10 games, the Clippers saw Corey Maggette scored 14 of their 18 points in the first quarter. Maggette, however, cooled off after spraining an ankle and finished with 19 points.

“We just kind of got away from some stuff,” said Maggette of the Clippers, who trailed, 23-18, after the first quarter. “I’m very disappointed. We were capable of winning that game.”

Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Hawks.

Abdur-Rahim spent most of the game battling rookies Melvin Ely and Chris Wilcox. Ely had 13 points, one short of his career high.

“We were telling him before the game, they’ve got a lot of rookies, you’ve got to show them who’s boss,” Atlanta point guard Jason Terry said.

Clipper guard Quentin Richardson missed the game because of a strained left knee.

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Former Clipper coach Alvin Gentry felt there was some selfish play before his firing but mostly took the high road in an interview with KCBS-TV.

“The players lost a little bit of confidence in each other and I thought there was a little bit of selfish play,” Gentry said. “But I don’t think it was done maliciously. I think it was done out of the fact that players felt like, ‘OK, we’re going poorly (so) then I can step up and get us over the hump.’ I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I really don’t.”

He could not be reached for further comment.