More Blues Against the Jazz

Another trip to Salt Lake City resulted in yet another loss for the Clippers, who fought through fatigue and disappointment from the night before but, as usual, couldn’t push through the Utah Jazz.

They’ve lost 30 of their last 31 games in the Utah capital after the Jazz hung on Tuesday night for a 93-91 victory in front of 19,011 in the Delta Center.

A double-overtime loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday night and the flight and bus ride that followed, dropping the visitors at their downtown hotel after 3 a.m., had left the Clippers drained emotionally and dragging physically.

They looked sluggish from the start, missed opportunities at the end and fell again to the Jazz, which won for only the second time in nine games and has been in a tailspin since forward Andrei Kirilenko was sidelined because of a knee injury.

“It’s hard for me to put a number on that,” Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy said of the circumstances that seemed to conspire against the weary Clippers. “I was trying to give guys a rest where I could.”

They have two days off to ponder their sudden downturn, which against the Jazz included giving up 20 offensive rebounds.

They have lost three in a row and four of five, two in overtime and two by two points, and end a two-game trip Friday night at Minneapolis against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have won eight in a row over the Clippers.

Corey Maggette, showing no signs of wear and tear, scored 28 points in 36 minutes after scoring a career-high 38 in 49 minutes against the Celtics.

Elton Brand scored 19 points before a left eye abrasion took him out of the game with 22 seconds to play, and Marko Jaric had 18 points and six assists.

The Clippers led in the third quarter, 70-64, before the Jazz closed with a 7-0 run, opened the fourth with a 6-2 spurt and never trailed again.

Chris Kaman, making his first start of the season six days after an emergency appendectomy, had a chance to pull the Clippers even with 22 seconds to play but missed the first of two free throws.

The Jazz made its next five free throws before Mehmet Okur, who led the winners with 19 points and 13 rebounds, missed the second of two foul shots with three seconds remaining, seemingly giving the Clippers one last chance.

They had no timeouts left, however, and Kaman, after taking the rebound, rifled the ball down court, where it hit the backboard as time expired.

“I didn’t know how quick they were going to start the clock,” said Kaman, who in the locker room afterward seemed to be trying, unsuccessfully, to explain himself to Jaric. “I knew there was only a little bit of time left.

“I looked, didn’t really see anybody and just threw it up there. Three seconds isn’t much. There isn’t a person in the NBA who can dribble from coast to coast in under five seconds, probably. I could have got it to half-court, maybe, but it would have been just as much of a heave as I threw from right there.”

Said Dunleavy: “He kind of went with it, but three seconds is a long time. We could have advanced the ball and got a closer shot than that.”

This game, though, was lost earlier, maybe even the night before.

“Three in a row right down to the end, [it’s] disappointing,” Brand said.

“We’ve just got to get off this slide. But I think we responded pretty well and played pretty hard tonight after a tough loss [Monday night].”

Still, they fell short again.

Said Jaric: “We played excellent today. We just didn’t do some simple things that we’re supposed to do: rebounding and defense.”