Strong Start Ends Weak Streak

Their playoff hopes having all but faded to black during three weeks on the road, the Clippers just needed a victory.

They got one Thursday night.

Ending their eight-game losing streak against a team that opened the season as a favorite to win the NBA championship but has failed to live up to the hype, they never trailed in a 92-86 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In front of 18,569 in the Clippers’ first game at Staples Center since Jan. 31, Elton Brand led the Clippers with 24 points, Corey Maggette scored 23 and All-Star forward Kevin Garnett of the Timberwolves missed 10 of 16 shots.

“It’s very positive,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said of the Clippers’ first victory since Feb. 3. “Every loss just keeps piling up on you and the pressure becomes more. You really start to feel it, you start to think about it more.”

Chris Kaman scored 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who had lost all but two points of an early 16-point lead before Kaman scored on consecutive possessions inside of 3 1/2 minutes to play.

That put them in control again, and they proceeded to close out their first victory over the Timberwolves since Dec. 7, 2002, ending a string of nine losses.

“He did a good job of showing really good patience,” Dunleavy said of Kaman. “When he takes his time and makes his move without rushing it, that’s when he’s at his best. Maybe it’s just being at home that makes him more comfortable.”

That goes for his teammates too. The Clippers have won only two of 20 road games since November, but they’ve won their last five home games and 18 of 28 in Staples Center this season. They’re 6-21 on the road.

“It means a lot to the team to get a win,” Brand said. “It was just such a tough trip for us ... so to beat a team directly in front of us in this playoff race, it’s a good feeling. We’re not giving up. There’s still a lot of time.”

Back home after nine consecutive road games and eight consecutive losses, their guard corps depleted because of injuries to Marko Jaric, Kerry Kittles and Shaun Livingston, the Clippers found themselves in a hole, eight games below .500 and six games out of the last playoff spot in the West with 28 games to play.

An 18-10 finish would be required just to avoid their 12th consecutive losing season and their 18th in 21 seasons in Los Angeles.

“Right now we’re playing for our lives,” Dunleavy said before the game. “Quite honestly, it’s fleeting. We’re in this situation where many nights we’re overmatched.... That doesn’t mean you concede. What it means is, OK, here are the things we’ve got to do and we’ve got to do them for 48 minutes. You can’t have lapses. That’s kind of where we are right now.”

The Timberwolves, meanwhile, are trying to recapture the magic of last season, when their 58-24 record was the best in the West and they reached the conference finals for the first time.

Actually, they’re fighting just to qualify for the playoffs.

Costing coach Flip Saunders his job along the way, they lost of eight of nine games before winning their last two before the All-Star break.

They started the day ninth in the West with a 27-27 record.

The Clippers then put them in a hole, making 12 of their first 18 shots to open a 24-8 lead at the end of a 16-2 run fueled by Brand, who scored eight points.

The Clippers, who made 56.5% of their shots in the first quarter, cooled to 37.5% in the second but still led at halftime, 45-36.