Clippers Are Routed by Suns

At full strength, nobody injured, the Clippers probably still would have a hard time keeping pace with the league-leading Phoenix Suns.

In their current, depleted state, they lag far behind.

The NBA’s hottest team has won 16 of its last 17 games after Saturday night’s 108-91 rout of the Clippers in front of 17,664 in Staples Center.

The Suns, who ended the Clippers’ three-game winning streak, have won five in a row and 25 of 27. En route to their 15th victory in 17 road games, they led by 19 points at the end of the first quarter and 23 at halftime.

“They’re an incredibly talented team,” Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy said.

All five of the Suns’ starters scored in double figures, led by Joe Johnson with 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting, three of six from beyond the three-point arc. Shawn Marion had 22 points and 11 rebounds. Former Clipper Quentin Richardson made five of nine three-point shots and scored 19 points. Amare Stoudemire scored 17 points and Steve Nash had 10 points and 10 assists.

“They’re young, they’re athletic, they play hard and they want to outscore you,” Clipper guard Kerry Kittles said of the Suns. “Sometimes when you have that mentality it creates fear in your opponents like, ‘Whoa, if we don’t be careful these guys will score 20 points real quick.’

“That’s what happened tonight. They jumped out early and started making all these threes and they felt comfortable. You can’t let a team get comfortable and feel good about themselves. They got confident and took us down from there.”

The Clippers, expected to be without injured regulars Marko Jaric Shaun Livingston and Chris Wilcox through the end of the month, made only 40.2% of their shots. Bobby Simmons scored 22 points but missed 11 of 17 shots. Corey Maggette scored 15 but missed 12 of 18 and Elton Brand scored 13 but missed 10 of 16.

The Clippers had eight turnovers in the first quarter, made only 33.3% of their shots and fell behind, 33-14. The Suns never trailed.

“We played into their hands by shooting some quick jump shots with the post not filled,” Dunleavy said. “You’re better off settling the pace down.”

The game opened a demanding stretch for the Clippers in which they eventually will play eight games in 13 nights against teams that brought a combined .758 winning percentage into the weekend, five against division leaders.

Still, Dunleavy looked forward to it.

“It’s an opportunity for us to see ourselves grow in mental toughness, to give ourselves a chance to win these games,” he said. “Can we build on our momentum and not turn the ball over and execute a little bit better and defend a little bit better and give ourselves a chance?”

Not against the streaking Suns, who have lost only once since Dec. 3. The Suns, who made 12 of 26 three-point shots Saturday, lead the NBA in scoring and three-point shooting, and are second in overall shooting percentage.

Only 33 games into the season, they’ve already matched their victory total from last season, when they were 29-53 and one game better than the Clippers at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

They added Nash and Richardson last summer. The Clippers gave up their rights to Richardson and traded for Kittles.

Kittles, acquired from the New Jersey Nets, has sat out most of the season because of knee and back injuries but was activated before Saturday’s game.

By the time he entered the game, the Clippers trailed, 25-14.

At halftime, the Suns’ lead was 69-46 and they’d made 55.3% of their shots, 10 of 17 from beyond the three-point arc.

The Clippers, meanwhile, had made only 40% of their shots and committed 11 turnovers, the miscues leading to 16 points for the Suns.

“You can’t help their runs by taking bad shots and turning the ball over,” Dunleavy said, “because they make you pay the price for those types of mistakes.”