Clippers Make It Four in a Row

A four-game early-season winning streak might not mean much amid a flurry of losses in the heart of winter, but the Clippers appear to be saying sayonara to the sorry play that had characterized two season-opening losses in Japan.

Not that their 95-92 victory over the hapless Orlando Magic on Saturday night before 17,422 at Staples Center will ever appear on ESPN Classic.

But the Clippers sharpened their resolve when they needed to, burying five of six late free throws to emerge with their first four-game winning streak since March 8-13, 2002. It is also the first time the Clippers (4-2) are two games over .500 since March 23 of the same season.

After guard Corey Maggette made two free throws with 1 minute 4 seconds left to give the Clippers a 92-91 advantage, the Magic had three chances to either take the lead or tie the score but couldn’t convert in dropping its ninth consecutive game.

“The main thing I’m pleased about is the way the guys gutted it out,” Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “Ultimately, we did a great job down the stretch getting stops when we needed to.”

The first came when Orlando guard Keith Bogans missed a shot from the corner and the ball went out of bounds to the Clippers with 43 seconds remaining. Magic guard Tracy McGrady then blocked Maggette’s mid-range jumper, and the ball bounced off Maggette’s head out of bounds.

McGrady worked the ball in to forward Drew Gooden on Orlando’s next possession, but Gooden’s jump hook in the lane was short and Clipper forward Chris Wilcox rebounded and was fouled with 9.2 seconds left.

Wilcox made both free throws to push the Clippers’ lead to 94-91 before the Clippers executed their strategy to perfection by fouling Tyronn Lue with 5.4 seconds to go. Lue hit one of two free throws, and the Magic had to foul Quentin Richardson, who made one foul shot with three seconds left to set the final margin.

Gooden could not get off a half-court heave before the final buzzer.

Richardson finished with a game-high 31 points, scoring only one point over the final 19:21.

Maggette added 17 points and Eddie House had 15 points off the bench for the Clippers, who have built some rare momentum heading into a three-game road trip that starts Tuesday in Cleveland.

“You’re trying to get guys to believe [that] what you say works,” Dunleavy said of the significance of the Clippers’ early success. “When you win, it helps.”

Said Maggette: “If we continue to do what we have to do -- make plays, make shots -- we’re going to be in every ballgame.”

Juwan Howard led the Magic with 22 points and McGrady had 19, two on a driving lay-in that gave Orlando its final lead, 91-90, with 1:37 remaining. The Clippers held McGrady, who had scorched the Denver Nuggets for 51 points Friday, to four points in the second half.

“We tried to pay a lot of attention to him,” Dunleavy said. “We double-teamed him every time we could.”

The Clippers were not particularly sharp on defense early, offering open looks underneath for center Steven Hunter and a bushel of points for McGrady.

The Clippers barely appeared in the game when Orlando went on a 15-0 run after Richardson opened the scoring with a three-pointer. McGrady scored seven points during the surge as the Magic capitalized on porous interior defense for dunks and easy baskets underneath.

Richardson, who made seven of 11 shots from the field in the opening quarter, single-handedly kept the Clippers around by scoring 15 of their 19 first-period points. The Clippers relied more on their outside shooters in the second quarter, tightened their defense and trimmed what had been a 14-point deficit to three when Marko Jaric drained his second three-pointer of the quarter to make it 53-50.

In the second half, the Clippers tightened up against a lineup that included such NBA retreads as Andrew DeClerq and Lue. Orlando has also been hampered by injuries to, among others, forwards Grant Hill (left ankle) and Pat Garrity (right knee) and guard Shammond Williams (left knee).

Chris Kaman played his best game of the season for the Clippers, scoring eight points and grabbing nine rebounds in 32 hustle-filled minutes.