Injury Clips Them Again

Back home in Staples Center, where they’ll play most of their games over the next six weeks, the Clippers fared no better Monday night than they had last week during a winless three-game trip through the Midwest.

They lost to the Houston Rockets, 105-90, in front of 16,962.

Already short-handed without the injured Elton Brand and Marko Jaric, they played the last three quarters of their fourth consecutive loss without guard Quentin Richardson, sidelined because of an ankle injury, and their offense suffered because of it.

“It’s kind of like trying to draw blood from a turnip,” Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy said of the offensive woes of his injury-depleted team.

The Clippers made only 34.1% of their shots while giving up more than 100 points for the sixth time in 10 games. The Rockets made 49.4%.

Five Rockets scored in double figures, led by guard Steve Francis, who had 19 points and nine assists. Yao Ming scored 18 points, all in the first half, and took 10 rebounds, and Maurice Taylor and Cuttino Mobley each scored 17.

Corey Maggette scored a season-high 33 for the Clippers, making only seven of 20 shots from the field but 18 of 20 free throws, and Predrag Drobnjak scored 20 on six-of-12 shooting.

Richardson, who scored a career-high 36 points Saturday at Minnesota but missed all four of his shots Monday, left the game after suffering a sprained left ankle with 3:23 to play in the first quarter and did not return.

“It was just too sore for me to make the cuts I would need to make,” he said, predicting he’d be ready to play Thursday night against the New Jersey Nets.

Monday’s game was the opener of a five-game homestand, beginning a six-week run of 16 of 21 games in Staples Center that could go a long way toward determining whether the Clippers are legitimate playoff contenders.

“We’ve definitely got to win our home games,” Richardson said before the game. “That’s what good teams do; they take care of business at home.”

The Rockets, meanwhile, were playing the second game of a five-game West Coast trip that started Friday with an 85-78 loss at Portland.

Coached by Jeff Van Gundy, hired from a group of candidates that included Dunleavy before Dunleavy landed with the Clippers, and anchored by the 7-foot-5 Yao, the Rockets are tied with the Dallas Mavericks atop the Midwest Division after failing to reach the playoffs the last four seasons.

“You have a guy that size, who’s very skilled, he’s going to command double-teams,” Dunleavy said of Yao, who was averaging 16.8 points and 9.8 rebounds. “And they have guys that can shoot the ball well from the outside, so they’ve got a good inside-out game where they’re able to stretch the court.”

Francis and Jim Jackson made three-point shots in the first two minutes, opening the inside for Yao, who made all six of his shots, all six of his free throws and had 18 points and eight rebounds in the first half.

The Rockets jumped to a 12-3 lead as the Clippers missed 11 of their first 12 shots, and the score was 20-11 in the Rockets’ favor when Richardson was injured late in the first quarter, dimming Clipper hopes for a comeback.

Led by Yao and Francis, who had 13 points and seven assists in the first half, the Rockets led at halftime, 55-41, after limiting the Clippers to 27.5% shooting.