Clippers, Coach Hit Low Point

A mile high never felt so low.

The Clippers’ flickering, fading playoff hopes all but evaporated into the thin mountain air Friday night when they were torched by the surging Denver Nuggets, 115-96, in front of 18,915 in the Pepsi Center.

A victory would have put the Clippers back in the mix.

Instead, they fell 5 1/2 games behind the Nuggets in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference and remained three games behind the Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves, both of whom lost earlier in the evening.

“Maybe we’re not meant to be in the mix,” said Coach Mike Dunleavy after the Clippers’ most lopsided loss in nearly two months and their second double-digit defeat against the Nuggets in less than two weeks. “Maybe we’re not ready for that.”

They definitely were not ready for the Nuggets, who outshot the Clippers, 57% to 39%, outrebounded them, 48 to 38, and never trailed in coasting to their 10th victory in their last 11 games and their 17th in 22 games under Coach George Karl.

The Clippers, Dunleavy summed up, “just got worked.”

Still, Corey Maggette wasn’t ready to write them off, even as they again fell seven games below .500 with 17 games left in their season.

“I don’t believe that,” he said of Dunleavy’s assessment. “I know Coach is upset. I’m upset too. I think our team has the capability of doing it, but we’ve got to be mentally strong. I think that’s basically where he’s coming from.

“We’ve got to be tough, we’ve got to dig deep to get wins [in games] like this. I’m getting tired of it.... We’ve just got to try to bring it, man.”

The Nuggets, who scorched them at Staples Center, 105-89, on March 5, followed the same script this time, beating the Clippers on several lobs for dunks.

“We’re just not smart enough,” said Dunleavy after the Clippers were outscored in the paint, 62-34. “We watched enough film, showed it 20 times, went over it, and the concentration wasn’t there. At this point in time, we’re just not a smart enough team as far as a lot of things we do. The easy baskets hurt us, the transition baskets. We made a ton of mental mistakes.”

Said Elton Brand: “There were definitely some things that could have been avoided ... but we didn’t have the effort or the focus.”

The Nuggets, who have gone from 17-25 to 34-30 under Karl, were only too happy to take advantage.

Six Nuggets scored in double figures, led by Carmelo Anthony, who had 21 points.

Marcus Camby had 20 points and 17 rebounds, Kenyon Martin 17 and nine.

Former Clipper Earl Boykins had 14 points and 10 assists. Another former Clipper point guard, Andre Miller, also had 10 assists.

Maggette scored 26 points for the Clippers, who are 1-17 outside Staples Center since Jan. 3, when they won at Denver.

Bobby Simmons and rookie Lionel Chalmers each scored 15. Brand, double-teamed whenever he touched the ball, scored a season-low six points, making two of eight shots in 27 minutes.

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Shaun Livingston, sidelined since Feb. 15 because of torn cartilage in his right shoulder, probably will resume his rookie season next week sometime, Dunleavy said, “if he feels good about it.” Livingston still might need surgery but said he wants to test his shoulder in a game before deciding.... Marko Jaric sat out for the second consecutive game because of a right hip pointer and didn’t sound confident about playing tonight.... Zeljko Rebraca sat out because of flu.