Clippers Are Only Half Right in Loss

Topping the Clippers’ list of new year’s resolutions: Beat an elite team.

A close second: Avoid injury.

Only hours after learning that point guard Marko Jaric would be sidelined for the next month because of a stress fracture in his right foot, the Clippers again lost to an NBA power Friday night, continuing a nearly yearlong run of futility and frustration against the best teams in the Western Conference.

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker combined for 44 points and the San Antonio Spurs torched the Clippers over the last three quarters of a 98-79 victory in front of a New Year’s Eve crowd of 17,115 in Staples Center.

The Spurs misfired early and fell behind by 10 points while missing 20 of their first 26 shots but made 31 of their last 49 (63.3%) and outscored the Clippers by eight points in the second quarter, eight in the third and 11 in the fourth.

They did it under the eye of assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo, who took over after Coach Gregg Popovich was ejected in the first quarter.

“I was obviously pleased the way we played in the first half,” Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy said, “but the second half defensively we didn’t sustain it. We just didn’t do a very good job of being active.... They got to our rim too easily, guys got uncontested shots and as a result they blew us out in the second half.”

Duncan scored 23 points on 11-of-18 shooting, Parker scored 21 on seven-of-12 shooting to go with 11 assists and the Spurs, who have won their last five games by an average of 21 points, won for the ninth time in 10 games.

Corey Maggette and Rick Brunson each scored 17 for the Clippers, Maggette also contributing 10 rebounds and Brunson eight assists. But Maggette missed eight of 12 shots and Bobby Simmons, who scored 10 points, missed eight of 13.

The Clippers (13-15) have lost eight of their last 10 games.

And not since Jan. 4, when they upset the Lakers, have they defeated a team that made the Western Conference playoffs last season, losing their last 27 games against the teams that finished No. 1 through 8 in the West last spring.

After Friday, they’re 0-9 against those teams this season.

The Spurs, of course, are not just any team. They’d won their previous four games by 14, 17, 21 and 34 points, touching down at LAX early Friday morning after a 114-80 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night at Portland.

“I don’t think anybody out there was circling this game as a win for us,” Dunleavy said after the Spurs had extended their winning streak. “We were probably the only ones that believed if we pitched a perfect game we’d have a chance.”

He called the Southwest Division leaders the NBA’s best team, saying of the Spurs before the game, “They’ve got all the bases covered.”

But, like any other team, the Spurs struggle when not making shots. They missed 16 of their first 21, falling behind by 10 points at the end of a 7-0 Clipper run late in the first quarter that was highlighted by Popovich’s ejection.

Heating up in the second quarter, the Spurs made nine of 13 shots at one point and briefly took the lead. At halftime, the score was 39-39.

In the second half, the Spurs opened with a 15-2 blitz and built their lead from there. They made 66.7% of their shots in the second half, Parker and Duncan combining for 27 points, while limiting the Clippers to 40% shooting.

“We’ve just got to stay together, not start pointing fingers at each other,” Brunson said. “Just stay together, stay positive and work through this.”