Maggette Makes Plenty Happen

If someone wanted to put together a highlight package of Corey Maggette’s season, they could save themselves some time by just playing a tape of the Clippers’ 110-101 victory over the Lakers.

Maggette’s 30-point, seven-assist performance, after all, was emblematic of the Clipper guard at his best. He defended aggressively, pushed the ball, attacked the rim and, oh yeah, made nine of 11 shots from the floor and 12 of 13 free throws.

“That’s the kind of game we love to see him play,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said of Maggette, who has scored 30 or more points in three of the Clippers’ last four games. “Anybody can score a lot of points by shooting a lot of shots, but if you can score by shooting a high percentage and getting to the free-throw line, that’s the ultimate.”

Maggette -- shooting 55% in four games this month, by far his best mark of the season -- said he realized the cracked bone in his right pinkie suffered during training camp might lead to some inconsistency. He is making 42.3% of his shots this season.

“It’s just trying to play the right way and do the right thing, taking better shots,” Maggette said of his recent success. “There’s going to be ups and downs this year with the shooting because of my finger.”

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Marko Jaric practiced for the first time since being sidelined Feb. 11 because of a stress fracture in his right foot and said he hoped to return Sunday against the Chicago Bulls.

The Clippers were still clinging to faint playoff hopes when Jaric was injured but are now longshots who would need to leapfrog three teams to qualify for the final spot in the Western Conference.

“Trust me, it’s very, very frustrating,” Jaric said of watching the losses mount while being sidelined. “Just seeing the team losing a couple of games and the playoff picture is getting further and further [away] ... you feel like if you were on the court, things would be much different.”

TONIGHT

At Sacramento, 7, FSNW2

Site -- Arco Arena.

Radio -- 1150.

Records -- Clippers 27-34, Kings 38-24.

Record vs. Kings -- 0-2.

Update -- The Clippers have lost 13 consecutive games at Arco Arena, last defeating the Kings there Nov. 7, 1997. The Kings, who have won the last seven games in the series, scored 15 of the game’s last 19 points to pull out an 89-83 victory Jan. 17 in the teams’ last meeting.