Clippers Fail Again

The Clippers have not fared well this season in games that require precise fourth-quarter execution. Nor have they enjoyed any success at all against teams that made the Western Conference playoffs last season.

But things looked promising Sunday night when they overcame an early 15-point deficit and led the Memphis Grizzlies by five points in the fourth quarter.

Looks can be deceiving.

Outscored by 15 points over the last 6 1/2 minutes, during a game-deciding run in which they committed seven of their turnovers, they lost to the Grizzlies, 92-82, in front of 16,297 at Staples Center.

“We messed up,” Clipper guard Corey Maggette said.

They’ve lost their last five games and six of seven, their strong start all but forgotten as they’ve dipped below .500 for the first time since Nov. 21.

“It’s a crucial moment for us right now,” guard Marko Jaric said. “From this point, are we going up or are we going down? I believe in this team and hope we’re going to find the energy to come back and try to be in the race for the playoffs.”

That probably will require outscoring an elite team at some point. They’re 0-6 against teams that made the Western Conference playoffs last season after making only three of 11 fourth-quarter shots against the Grizzlies, only one during the game-ending 20-5 run that sealed their fate.

They were 9-6 in the opening month, their winningest November since moving to Southern California in 1978 and followed that with an encouraging encore, a Dec. 1 victory over the Indiana Pacers, depleted by suspension and injury but still leading the Eastern Conference at that point.

Their fast start, however, has dissolved into a December tailspin, dropping them to 11-12 and, as of last week, out of the top eight in the West.

Twice they lost by two points and two other times they lost in overtime -- until Friday night at Minneapolis, where the Minnesota Timberwolves rolled to a 113-86 victory, the Clippers’ most lopsided loss since last season.

“Wake-up call,” reserve center Mikki Moore said of the loss.

But the Clippers were asleep at the wheel to start Sunday’s game, the Grizzlies making 12 of their first 16 shots and taking a 29-14 lead.

The Grizzlies then missed 16 of 20 and the Clippers rallied. With Maggette scoring 22 points and Elton Brand scoring 19 and taking 12 rebounds, they caught the Grizzlies in the third quarter, when they made 73.7% of their shots and Bobby Simmons made all six of his shots and scored all but one of his 14 points.

A short turnaround jumper by Brand gave them a 77-72 lead with 7:54 to play, but they made only one more shot.

Maggette turned the ball over four times in the last 6:04, three times in the last 53.9 seconds, and Brand turned it over twice.

Meanwhile, point guard Jason Williams scored 10 of his 17 points during the Grizzlies’ game-ending rally, jump-starting it with a three-point field goal, and forward Pau Gasol scored six of his 20.

“It’s not panic, but we don’t feel great because of that, obviously,” Jaric said of the Clippers’ late-game problems, including four losses in five overtime games. “We lost how many games in overtimes and down the stretch? We feel bad. We’re losing confidence with those games.

“We need to start beating teams in the first and second quarters, like we did at the start of the season.”