Clippers Add to Win Trend

Before they face a virtual gantlet of NBA powers, the Clippers first took on the Portland Trail Blazers, the last team on their schedule with a losing record until they play the New Orleans Hornets on Jan. 22.

Not wasting the opportunity, the Clippers stretched their winning streak to three games with a 102-98 victory in front of 15,092 in Staples Center.

With four of their top eight players watching from behind the bench -- Marko Jaric, Kerry Kittles, Chris Wilcox and Shaun Livingston are all sidelined -- they won for the fourth time in five games, all against teams with losing records but none against teams with a list of injured players as long as the Clippers’.

Corey Maggette scored 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, among them two free throws with 1:02 to play that put the Clippers ahead to stay, and the team again found itself among the top eight in the Western Conference.

“This gives the team a big boost for morale,” Elton Brand said. “We know we’ve got a tough stretch coming up ... but we hope to continue this trend.”

Bobby Simmons scored 22 points and had nine rebounds. Brand had 18 points and eight rebounds. Chris Kaman, scoreless Monday at Denver, had 10 rebounds and matched a season high with 13 points.

Orchestrating it all was Rick Brunson, who missed four of five shots and scored only four points but had a career-high 14 assists and four steals. Coach Mike Dunleavy called the veteran point guard “nothing short of terrific.”

Of the Clippers’ upcoming stretch against the NBA’s elite, Dunleavy said, “I can’t think of any better way to go into it. We know we’re coming up against some really tough teams, but our guys are playing extremely hard. I couldn’t ask for anything more from them.

“And when we start putting playing hard together with taking care of the ball, not turning the ball over ... heart and smart is a good combination.”

By winning three of their previous four games before Wednesday, the Clippers had run their record to .500, only the fourth time in 21 seasons in Los Angeles that they had reached the break-even point after December.

But Dunleavy’s reaction to the milestone was muted.

“It’s good, it’s great,” he said before the game. “We want to be at .500; we want to be above .500. And I think for all the injuries we’ve had and everything that’s gone on, that’s a great number for us.

“I guess for me, I look at the long term, and it’s just too early to get excited about anything. Now, if we were in the middle of March [at .500], then great.”

He also was wary of the breakneck schedule dead ahead.

“After these next 10 games, if we’re still at .500, then that’s an incredible accomplishment,” Dunleavy said.

Starting Saturday night against the Phoenix Suns, the Clippers’ next eight games are against teams that brought a combined .762 winning percentage into Wednesday night’s games, half on the road and five against division leaders.

The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, have injuries and problems of their own. They have lost four of five to drop below .500 and played Wednesday without Shareef Abdur-Rahim, their No. 2 scorer and rebounder.

Still, they led at halftime, 51-48, after making 66.7% of their shots in the second quarter, before the Clippers hit them with a 14-2 run to start the second half.

The Trail Blazers rallied and twice tied the score in the fourth quarter, the last time at 96-96 with 1:17 to play. However, Maggette hit two free throws with 1:02 to play and then nailed a long jumper from the left wing with 19 seconds left.