Clippers Fall, by Bibby’s Royal Decree

Another game, another bitter loss.

For the Clippers, it has been a recurring theme. Their season has been defined by deflating defeats, perhaps none more difficult to swallow than Friday night’s 113-112 loss to the Sacramento Kings in front of 17,317 in Arco Arena.

They matched the Kings big play for big play down the stretch, only to lose when Mike Bibby made a last-second, 22-foot jumper over Quinton Ross.

“Unfortunately, this has happened to us a lot this year,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said after the Clippers, winless outside of Staples Center since Feb. 3, fell to 3-12 in games decided by three points or fewer.

The Clippers, who haven’t won in 14 games at Sacramento since November 1997, made nearly 56% of their shots. They outrebounded the Kings, 40-33, even though their leading rebounder, Elton Brand, played only 21 minutes because of foul trouble. And they erased a nine-point third-quarter deficit.

They led, 112-111, after Bobby Simmons made a layup with 4.9 seconds left, the result of a heads-up steal, length-of-the-court drive and assist by Rick Brunson.

But then Bibby, who scored 28 points, made it all moot.

The King point guard, who beat the Memphis Grizzlies with a buzzer-beating three-point shot Tuesday, took an inbound pass from Cuttino Mobley beyond the top of the key, dribbled left toward a screen and turned back right. With Ross retreating and falling out of position to contest the shot, Bibby stopped suddenly, rose up and drained a shot from the right wing.

“I thought he was going to use the screen” by Corliss Williamson, Ross said, “but he dribbled back. He kind of got me with a little hesitation dribble. I kind of bit on it a little bit and he just made the shot.... You’ve got to hand it to him.”

Said Dunleavy: “We had our best defender on him. We knew where the ball was going. We were just going to make him put the ball on the floor and switch [defenders] and hope to get a real contested shot.

“But we were a little bit overanxious and let them beat us back to the other side where it was clear and there was no help.”

Brunson said of the latest last-second loss, “I’m sure there’s going to be another one before the year’s out, but this stinks. You play good, you play hard enough to win.... It’s just tough to come up short.”

Corey Maggette led the Clippers with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Backup center Zeljko Rebraca, filling in for Brand in the low post, scored 16 points on seven-of-10 shooting. Chris Kaman had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Ross scored 12 points. Brunson had 10 assists.

Williamson scored a season-high 22 points for the Kings, 14 in the fourth quarter. Mobley scored 21. Bibby, who made 12 of 20 shots, had 12 assists.

Brian Skinner and Kenny Thomas, acquired along with Williamson last month in the trade that sent Chris Webber to the Philadelphia 76ers, combined for 26 points, 18 rebounds and five blocked shots, the last by Thomas on a dunk attempt by Ross with 66 seconds remaining, leading to a Bibby layup.

“You have to give them credit,” Dunleavy said of the Kings, who have won five of nine games, including the last three, since trading Webber. “They made a couple of great plays in order to win that game. That blocked shot on Q, Thomas came a long distance to get that shot. And, obviously, the shot Bibby made.”