Good Turns Bad for Clippers

The way everything fell right for the Clippers on Thursday night at Memphis, they probably half-expected to be greeted by bright sunshine and unseasonably warm weather Friday in Milwaukee.

Lo and behold, they were, with temperatures in the 40s.

Inside the Bradley Center on Friday night, however, their good fortune ran out. They let an eight-point third-quarter lead slip away, gave up 19 offensive rebounds and lost, 92-90, to the Bucks, who are last in the Central Division and have the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference.

Michael Redd, who last season missed two late free throws in a 105-103 loss to the Clippers at Milwaukee, balanced the ledger by scoring the last of his 32 points on a game-winning jump shot from the right wing with 15.8 seconds to play.

At the other end, the Clippers’ last possession broke down as Rick Brunson’s baseline jump shot fell off the rim and Dan Gadzuric hauled in the rebound at the buzzer, ending the Clippers’ three-game winning streak.

One night after they had posted arguably their most impressive victory of the season, erasing an 18-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies, the Clippers were back on their heels, their record again falling below .500.

“It’s disappointing,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “First off, 19 offensive rebounds is the story of the game. A lot of times we did a good enough job to make them miss shots, but to give up that many chances, that just killed us.”

Still, hoping to win consecutive road games for the first time since the opening week of the season, the Clippers led much of the game and had a chance to win or force overtime as their last possession unfolded.

Elton Brand, who made 13 of 21 shots and scored a season-high 31 points, was the first option, but the Clippers knew he would be double-teamed, so they planned to have their best shooters positioned at the three-point line.

Brand got the ball in the post, pump faked and looked to pass to Bobby Simmons, who scored 21 points, but Simmons wasn’t where he was supposed to be.

“Bobby was supposed to be at the top of the key for a jump shot,” Brand said. “It’s the story of the season: lack of execution. We didn’t execute properly and we got burned by it.”

Brand passed to Marko Jaric, who got the ball to Brunson. Brunson, tightly guarded along the left baseline, had to shoot to beat the buzzer.

Jaric, though, said the game was lost long before that.

“We’re not even supposed to come down to the last possession,” said Jaric, who matched a career high with 12 assists. “We should have closed this game out much earlier.”

All but one of the nine players used by Buck Coach Terry Porter took at least one offensive rebound. Backup center Zaza Pachulia had five in 22 minutes. Redd, Joe Smith and Toni Kukoc each had three.

“We didn’t think we’d come here and get crushed on the boards by any East Coast team,” Brand said. “That’s very disappointing, all the offensive rebounds they got. I attribute that to them just wanting it. Their record might not show it, but they’re a good team. They’re fighting.”

Redd, who made 13 of 23 shots, scored 21 points in the second half on eight-of-13 shooting. None was more important than the last.

“Basically, I just wanted to make a play for the team,” said Redd, who was beyond the three-point arc when he took a pass from Maurice Williams, then stepped inside after defender Quinton Ross flew past. “I was going to shoot the three, but he defended it well and I saw the lane was pretty much open.”