Tank Is Empty at End of Trip

What could have been a terrific trip for the Clippers was merely good and ended poorly Sunday night with a 113-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center.

The disappointed Clippers (5-2) said they finished a 2-2 trip with their worst performance, and who could argue?

They established season highs in turnovers (20) and points allowed. The Clippers exhibited poor judgment at key moments, frustrating Coach Mike Dunleavy by failing to execute on offense consistently.

It wasn’t the capper Dunleavy had envisioned from a confident bunch with playoff aspirations, but that’s what the Clippers delivered.

“I’m disappointed,” Dunleavy said. “We had a good trip, you go .500 on a road trip and it’s a good trip, but I wanted it to be a great trip. We hurt ourselves with turnovers and letting them get to the rim for layups and a lot of free throws in the first half.

“In the second half, we played much better and got ourselves going, but I thought our shot selection hurt us and our turnovers hurt us. We didn’t show the poise that I needed to see in order to come back in a tough place, against a team that’s playing pretty well, and be able to knock ‘em out.”

Instead, the Clippers hurt themselves.

They struggled against the 76er press in the second quarter, going scoreless for 4 minutes 17 seconds, and Philadelphia used a 13-0 spurt to take a 46-32 lead 6:08 before halftime. Cuttino Mobley, who scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half, making four three-point baskets, was the bright spot for the Clippers, who trailed, 60-50, at the break.

Dunleavy turned to 6-foot-10 forward Walter McCarty, who missed the first six games because of an injured right thumb, to help break the press. Despite missing four of five shots from behind the arc, the three-point specialist helped to provide better spacing for the offense.

The Clippers also received a lift from reserve center Zeljko Rebraca, who scored eight points during a 13-4 run that cut the 76er lead to 88-86 with 10:20 to play in the game. The Clippers had the momentum and the ball, but point guard Sam Cassell missed a rushed jumper that infuriated Dunleavy.

Philadelphia grabbed the rebound and Rebraca fouled Lee Nailon, who tormented the Clippers with 21 points off the bench. Nailon made two free throws, triggering seven unanswered points and a 95-86 lead for Philadelphia.

“We could have changed the game, but we didn’t, we didn’t play very good,” Rebraca said. “We need to change that a little bit. It was too much quick shots.”

Cassell had a rough night. The 12-year veteran made only one of 10 shots and scored four points with 12 assists.

“I thought I had it, and if it went in it would have been a good shot, but at that particular time it was a bad shot,” Cassell said. “We had numerous times we could get back in the game and we just didn’t capitalize.”

The 76ers’ veteran point guard had a better experience. Allen Iverson led them with 28 points, 10 assists and five steals. His six-foot jumper with 51.4 seconds left all but sealed Philadelphia’s fourth straight victory, giving them a 109-100 lead.

“To be on top of our division right now just shows a lot about us as a team and how we feel about each other,” said Iverson, whose team is 4-3 after an 0-3 start. “We just believe in each other.”

The Clippers remained atop the Pacific Division, but they returned to Los Angeles wondering about what could have been.

“It’s very frustrating because it was a good trip, but it wasn’t a great trip,” said forward Elton Brand, who had game highs with 32 points and 11 rebounds. “We wanted to make it a great trip and we had opportunities. We shot ourselves in the foot with bad shots and turnovers.

“The momentum was ours and we have to learn from that. Once the momentum is going our way, we have to take the right shots.”