For Clippers, It’s a Rebound Effort

Be it ever so humble, the “race” for the eighth playoff position in the Western Conference squeezed a little tighter Wednesday night.

The Clippers’ 101-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in front of 16,531 at Staples Center was only their third in their last 12 games, but it moved them to within three games of the eighth-place Lakers.

They’re still 11th in the West, but they’ve trimmed three games off the slumping Lakers’ lead in the last week by winning three of their last four games.

They’ve won seven consecutive home games and nine of 10 at Staples Center, offsetting a nine-game road losing streak, after Corey Maggette scored 34 points and they pulled down 20 more rebounds than the Mavericks.

“We’re getting a great effort at home, no question about that,” said Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy, seemingly at a loss to explain the discrepancy between the Clippers’ 20-10 record at home and their 6-22 record on the road.

Maggette made 10 of 17 shots and 14 of 16 free throws. He also had eight rebounds, helping the Clippers to a 52-32 advantage.

“I think you can concentrate better at home,” Maggette said. “We’re not worried about a lot of stuff and I think when you have the fans behind you, pumping you up as you make plays and standing behind you, that keeps your confidence up.”

The Clippers got the fans behind them early, making nearly 59% of their shots in the first quarter and opening the second quarter with a 9-0 run to increase their lead to 40-23. They led by 14 points at halftime and, after the Mavericks closed to within five points in the third quarter, upped the lead back to 16 in the fourth.

Elton Brand scored 19 points and led the Clippers with 10 rebounds. Bobby Simmons scored 18 points. Mikki Moore, who triggered the second-quarter run, scored 12 points and took nine rebounds. Rick Brunson had nine assists.

All-Star Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 25 points on eight-of-15 shooting.

“You’re not going to hold him down,” Dunleavy said, “but I thought we did a really good job of making him work for his points. Nothing came easy.”

The Mavericks, who play the Lakers on Friday at Staples Center, are 19-8 outside Dallas, among the NBA’s best road records. They had won six consecutive road games, one shy of the second-longest road winning streak in club history, and eight of nine since Jan. 24, when they lost to the Clippers.

They also had won seven of their last eight games overall, the only loss by a point Saturday against the Phoenix Suns.

They’d won 10 of 13 games in February, led by Nowitzki, who during the month averaged 27.2 points on 46.4% shooting, 10.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.85 blocked shots. Five times the forward from Germany scored at least 30 points.

Still, when it was suggested to Coach Don Nelson before the game that the Mavericks were on a roll, he said, “Oh, I don’t know about that. We’ve been winning games. I don’t know that we’ve been playing as well as I want to.... Just lucky.

“We’re just not consistent enough. We have guys out all the time. It’s been drudgery. We’ve got 12 on the roster, but we’ve still got a major player out.”

That would be center Erick Dampier, sidelined because of a stress fracture in his right foot. His absence has prompted Nelson to go with a smaller, quicker lineup centered on the 7-foot Nowitzki.

“What they try to do is, they try to get you with their mobility,” Dunleavy said before the game. “They play smaller at times, kind of the like the Phoenix situation, just trying to outrun you.”

But that leaves them vulnerable on the boards, as the Clippers showed.