Clippers Stay Down and Out

It’s official: The Clippers are in a lull.

Wednesday’s 97-75 loss to Indiana at Conseco Fieldhouse, knocking Los Angeles (15-10) out of first place in the Pacific Division, a half-game behind idle Phoenix, had all the earmarks of a team beset by injuries, a stagnant offense, few breaks and tough times.

The Clippers lost another player for an undetermined time, as Quinton Ross -- perhaps their best defender -- joined Corey Maggette on the bench because of back spasms.

While they have been averaging 45.9% shooting, the Clippers mustered only 37.1%, or 33 of 89, against the Pacers (15-8) on Wednesday, and were severely hampered by a pair of five-minute scoreless droughts in the second and third quarters.

The strongest indicator that they are struggling -- the inability to catch up after falling behind, no matter how early -- was also a factor against Indiana. Their last lead was 4-3 with 8:44 to play in the first quarter. They were down, 46-38, at halftime, 66-58 after three quarters, got as close as 72-68 with 8:57 to play in the fourth, but were outscored, 19-3, the rest of the way.

“Give Indiana credit, but we’re just not playing well right now,” Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “You force 21 turnovers, get 17 offensive boards, and you can’t get points on the board. I had no fault with most of our shot selection, we just couldn’t finish them tonight.

“Even the easy shots are not going in for us right now.... We’re making mistakes we weren’t making earlier in the season. And it cost us.”

The loss, the fifth in six games for the Clippers, was also frustrating because there were some solid performances. Chris Kaman, who had 12 points and 15 rebounds in the last three games combined, had 13 points and 16 rebounds Wednesday. Shaun Livingston, starting in place of Ross, had 10 points and a team-high five assists.

Also, Elton Brand was, well, Elton Brand, with 29 points and 12 rebounds.

But even with four starters in double figures -- Cuttino Mobley also had 13 points -- the Clippers looked outmanned by Indiana. Stephen Jackson had 24 points. Jamaal Tinsley had 17 and eight assists. Jermaine O’Neal had what was for him a quiet night with 15 points and 11 rebounds, but Danny Granger came off the bench and scored 16.

“I thought it was one of our best efforts in terms of our disposition at both ends,” said Pacer Coach Rick Carlisle, whose team is now 5-1 without Ron Artest. “Jamaal had a monster game for us. Danny Granger gave us a lift off the bench. And Stephen Jackson was the unsung hero. He never let Mobley get going.

“When [Jackson] plays like he did tonight, it sets a great tone for our team.”

Facing a high level of adversity for the first time, the Clippers said the worst thing they could do is start questioning themselves.

“It’s obviously difficult to win on the road, especially against a great team like Indiana,” said Kaman, who already had nine rebounds by the end of the first quarter. “We shot ourselves in the foot with all the missed shots, myself included. But we’ve still got a lot of games to play. We have to look at the bright side.”

Brand added: “We also have to look at the circumstances. We’re missing a great starter in Corey, then his reserve Quinton goes down. Injuries hit teams. We have to bounce back from it.”

At the same time, the Clippers have to look at what is going wrong and make some adjustments.

“Right now we’re just not playing like we should,” Mobley said. “I don’t know what it is; but you go through things like this. I’ve gone through it before with teams that still won 50 games.

“My concern is, do we know how to get out of it, as a team? ... This is where the vets come in. We’ve got to study. You might get through a couple of tests, but you can’t pass unless you study.”