Clippers Run Down

There’s always room for improvement, and the Clippers had areas to address Friday night after a 105-95 loss to the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.

The Nuggets gave the Clippers much to consider while ending their winning streak at four games, contributing to what Coach Mike Dunleavy described as the team’s worst game of the year. It’s early, but Dunleavy’s assessment could hold up awhile.

“It was bad. Just bad balance and bad everything,” forward Corey Maggette said. “We made them look like the best defensive team in the league, so Coach should scold us about it.”

The Clippers (9-3) said they played more poorly than they envisioned they could after a franchise-best start.

They had too many breakdowns on offense, standing around often and holding the ball as the shot clock wound down. And they failed miserably in the main emphasis of Dunleavy’s game plan: limiting the fast-paced Nuggets’ fastbreak opportunities.

The Nuggets (8-6) had 31 fastbreak points, and forward Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 35 points to help them overcome the loss of forward-center Marcus Camby, sidelined Friday because of a right thigh injury.

Camby leads the NBA in rebounding at 13.9 per game, averages 16.8 points and had double-doubles in his previous five games, so things could have been even worse for the Clippers, though that wasn’t comforting for them.

“It was a real, real bad game,” guard Cuttino Mobley said. “Against a really good team like this, you can’t do the same things you do against the other teams. You can’t let them have 31 points on the fastbreak.

“You can’t come down and turn it over, and don’t do what you’re supposed to do on offense, and expect to come back against a good team. If we don’t correct this, it’s going to be a problem.”

There were more problems than the Clippers could correct, and even forward Elton Brand’s sixth consecutive double-double -- 20 points and 11 rebounds -- and six rebounds from backup center Chris Wilcox didn’t brighten Dunleavy’s mood.

With Zeljko Rebraca sidelined indefinitely because of an irregular heartbeat, the Clippers have pushed the 6-foot-10, 235-pound Wilcox to increase his efforts.

“He knows it’s an opportunity right here,” Dunleavy said. “It’s important that he steps up for us, and he’s got the tools.

“We need him to board, run the floor and take what the low-post opportunities give him. We need him to provide us with good energy.”

Wilcox played better than he had recently, but his teammates regressed.

“I thought their guys played harder and gave a better effort,” Dunleavy said. “Maybe the oxygen didn’t get to our brains.”

The Clippers seemingly were not thinking clearly late in the fourth quarter.

After trailing, 92-76, early in the quarter, the Clippers put together their best stretch and pulled to within 95-91 on Brand’s layup with 3:06 left. And then they lost it again, taking rushed shots that ignited Denver’s running attack.

“Coach has a right to feel the way he does,” point guard Sam Cassell said. “We did things that we should know better.”

Anthony punctuated the victory with a dunk at the 1:37 mark, taking a lob pass from former Clipper point guard Andre Miller on the fastbreak, giving the Nuggets a 101-91 lead.

“We got a lot of points because of our defense,” Denver Coach George Karl said. “I think their offense was a little out of sync at times during the game.

“They were not sure at times who was supposed to take the shots. I think our defense had something to do with that. That was probably the most satisfying win we’ve had all year.”

Anthony agreed.

“It was a good win,” he said, “especially with the Clippers being one of the hottest teams this year.”

Of course, they’re a little cooler now.