Clippers Produce a Comeback Story

They’ve played two halves in NBA games for a while now, and that’s good news for the Clippers.

Maybe the Denver Nuggets had forgotten, or at least it seemed that way Tuesday night as the Clippers overcame a 22-point first-half deficit in a 111-109 victory at Staples Center.

The Clippers relied on their defense, missing often in the first 24 minutes, in the second half of their largest comeback of the season, following the lead of swingman Quinton Ross.

Seeking a spark with the Clippers trailing, 77-57, at halftime, Coach Mike Dunleavy put Ross into the starting lineup, and Ross’ aggressive play against Denver forward Carmelo Anthony set a positive tone for the Clippers.

How bad were the Clippers in the first half?

They gave up their highest point total and the Nuggets also set opponent marks for field goals (31), assists (26) and field-goal percentage (81.6%).

Denver had the NBA’s highest shooting percentage in a first half in a decade, which is as long as the Elias Sports Bureau has recorded the statistic, according to a Clipper spokesman.

After halftime, the Nuggets shot 27%. Anthony, who scored 24 points, missed seven of eight shots, and was ejected with 1:11 remaining for punching the ball about 25 rows into the stands in frustration.

“We wanted to come out in the second half and play hard,” Ross said. “We had a bad first half, so we wanted to come out and turn it up on defense.”

The Clippers overcame a 19-point deficit Jan. 23 in a 96-93 victory over the Golden State Warriors at the Arena in Oakland.

The largest comeback in team history was when the Clippers overcame a 24-point deficit in Chicago on Nov. 13, 2004. The team has come back from deficits of 21 or more six times.

“All I ask of my guys is to play hard, and we didn’t play hard in the first half,” said Sam Cassell, who had 19 points and 10 assists. “They did what they wanted, so I told Mike to set the example with me.”

Backup point guard Shaun Livingston, who replaced Cassell in the opening lineup after halftime, did for the Clipper offense what Ross did for the defense.

Livingston, who had seven assists, initiated fastbreaks at every opportunity, and the Clippers outscored the Nuggets, 31-16, in the third quarter.

“In the first half, we didn’t come out with the intensity that we needed, and it was very disappointing to me,” Dunleavy said. “In the second half, I thought our guys were incredible with the intensity.

“Our guys came out defensively and really got into them. We pushed the tempo and created an atmosphere where we had them rushing some shots, and missing shots, and we took advantage of that.”

Again, Cassell took the lead in the fourth, scoring 10 points with four assists.

His fastbreak layup gave the Clippers their first lead, 101-100, with 5:11 remaining. With 4:28 to go, Cassell’s layup put them ahead, 103-102.

Corey Maggette, who contributed 17 points off the bench, gave the Clippers the lead for good, 109-107, on a dunk at the 1:28 mark. Cassell’s two free throws closed the scoring, and Denver forward Ruben Patterson missed a potential tying shot as time expired.

Elton Brand had 18 points and 11 rebounds -- his team-leading 41st double-double -- and Vladimir Radmanovic scored 18 off the bench as the Clippers (43-30) cut their magic number to clinch a playoff berth to two.

They also won the season series against the Nuggets, 3-1, winning the last three games. Denver, which leads the Northwest Division, and the Clippers could meet in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

“This is big for us,” Cassell said. “We could face these guys, and we’ve won the last three against them, and that’s what you want.”