Clippers Routed by the Nets

The Clippers as a whole left Continental Airlines Arena on Tuesday night with tread marks on their backs, having been flattened in the opening game of a three-game trip.

Corey Maggette left with scratches on his neck and throat, the result of a third-quarter altercation that brought passion, albeit ugly, to a lifeless game.

The New Jersey Nets were on their way to a 92-75 victory in front of 12,305, leading by 26 points early in the second half, when Kenyon Martin wrapped up Maggette’s arms with a hard foul as Maggette drove to the rim.

Underneath the basket, Maggette pushed the Net forward in an effort to free himself, and Martin, his feet tangled beneath him, fell to the floor.

The volatile Martin came up swinging and landed an open-handed punch that left marks on the startled Maggette, who traded punches with Martin, none of which landed but which resulted in ejections for both players.

And, in all probability, suspensions for both too.

The Clippers, 3-10 outside Staples Center and losers of eight of nine road games since Nov. 14, expect to be without Maggette, their leading scorer, when their trip continues tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers.

“I’ve got to sit out a game,” Maggette said, a white T-shirt covering his wounds, other than a small abrasion at the base of his throat.

Replays to the contrary, Maggette denied pushing Martin.

“I hope he understands that,” Maggette said, adding that he had tried through a ball boy to get Martin’s cellphone number in an effort to talk with him, but that Martin had declined to give it. “I know Kenyon’s a hothead sometimes and he takes stuff the wrong way, but I’m going to let the league handle it and just go on.”

Martin declined to comment, leaving without talking to reporters.

His reaction after falling to the floor surprised Maggette. “I wasn’t even expecting it,” he said, “and the next thing you know he grabbed my throat....

“When someone grabs you, what’re you supposed to do?”

Still, he added, “I apologize to my teammates as well as to my organization, because I let my team down and my organization down.”

He wasn’t the only one.

The Clippers, who beat the Lakers on Sunday, opened their trip by making 28.6% of their shots and scoring only 15 points in the first quarter, which didn’t seem so bad after they made 15.8% and scored 13 in the second.

Jason Kidd, on his way to 32 points and eight assists, had 18 and four at halftime and the Nets led, 51-28, the Clipper point total a season-low for a half.

“We dug ourselves too big a hole in the first half,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “We just did a terrible job of taking care of the basketball coming out of the gate....

“We let them beat us to all the loose balls, which got them some easy scores ... which helped them get a little bit of confidence to make shots from the outside.”

Three-point baskets by Kerry Kittles and Richard Jefferson, who scored 20 points, pushed the Net lead to 27 points early in the second half.

The Martin-Maggette altercation came with 7:08 to play in the third quarter, after which Clipper reserves cut the deficit to 79-69 before the Nets pulled away again.

“Something like that has to jump you a little bit,” Dunleavy said of the brief but fiery exchange. “We came out and we gave a good effort. We probably would have been better [off] if it had happened in the first minute of the game.”

Instead, they sleepwalked through the first 2 1/2 quarters.

“We picked it up after the altercation, but we didn’t make a game of it,” Elton Brand said. “We cut it to 10, and that second unit came in and really played hard.

“But the starting unit? Very disappointing.”