Clippers Deflate for First Defeat

Well, so much for an undefeated season.

The Clippers’ bid to accomplish that feat ended Monday night in their fourth game, a 93-78 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center.

The team that had performed at such a high level in a 3-0 start appeared only briefly in the second game in three nights against the Timberwolves, whose strong defense contributed to the Clippers’ problems.

Poor shooting, including 0 for 13 from behind the three-point arc, and lackluster defense proved too much for the Clippers to overcome, especially in the third quarter.

The Timberwolves outscored the Clippers, 21-12, turning a 45-44 halftime deficit into a 65-57 lead.

Then Minnesota All-Star forward Kevin Garnett took the lead, scoring his team’s first six points in the fourth quarter, and the Clippers continued to stumble on offense, failing to move the ball to Coach Mike Dunleavy’s satisfaction.

Minnesota twice led by as many as 16 points, and the Clippers’ frustration was evident in the opener of a four-game trip.

“I didn’t feel we played worth a darn tonight other than the second quarter,” said Dunleavy, whose team shot 40% from the field compared with 52.8% for Minnesota. “We didn’t make shots and basically gave up too much dribble penetration. I just thought we got outworked.”

The Clippers, who had three consecutive victories to start a season for only the third time in franchise history, have dropped eight consecutive games in Minnesota.

Players acknowledged perfection wasn’t an attainable goal, but they said a total breakdown was unacceptable for a team that has big expectations.

“We wanted to go undefeated, but it’s not realistic to win every game,” said forward Elton Brand, who led the Clippers with 26 points and eight rebounds.

“Everyone knows that you’re not going to win every game, but we didn’t play up to our capabilities. They stopped a lot of our sets in the third, and it hurt us a little bit any time they put a lot of pressure on us.

“We had a chance. And we knew they’re not going to just roll over and let us win, especially since we just beat them at home.”

At Staples Center on Saturday, the Clippers defeated the Timberwolves, 100-99, in overtime. After a 25-point, 15-rebound performance in Los Angeles, Garnett again set the tone against the Clippers, scoring 22 points with 11 rebounds and eight assists as Minnesota evened its record at 2-2.

Clipper guard Cuttino Mobley had 27 points and a personal-best 12 rebounds in Saturday’s victory, but didn’t fare as well Monday.

Mobley scored 14 points and missed 11 of 15 shots, including six three-point attempts.

“He was frustrated by some of the calls or non-calls,” Dunleavy said. “I guess he felt like he was getting bumped and pushed a few times. I’d have to go back and look at the film to see if he’s right.”

Mobley downplayed the effect of the referees’ performance, but was upset about the Clippers’ bad act.

“Sometimes, when you’re up by 20, those same calls don’t matter to you,” he said. “When you’re down and you’re struggling, you start to cry, you start to complain and you start to do a lot of different things. We didn’t play like we should play.

“We let ‘em penetrate to the [basket], we let ‘em get easy looks, they didn’t let us get easy looks and we missed easy shots. We didn’t run our offense like we should have. We just did a lot of different things to ourselves.

“They didn’t beat us. We beat ourselves.”

The outcome was particularly disappointing for point guard Sam Cassell, who returned to the Target Center for the first time since the Timberwolves traded him to the Clippers on Aug. 12 in a deal that brought point guard Marko Jaric to Minnesota.

After saying the Timberwolves made him a “scapegoat” for the team’s disappointing 2004-05 season, Cassell made three of 10 shots from the field and scored 11 points in the loss. Jaric had eight points and six assists.

“We protected our home court and they protected their home court, and that’s what you’re supposed to,” Cassell said. “I wish those guys the best because Kevin is my main man. I want all good to come to him.”