Clippers Push Point at Seattle

They’re running out of space for all those Clipper accomplishments this season, and the total has continued to increase.

It was time to clear more room in the franchise record book Friday night after the Clippers rallied for a 101-97 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics at KeyArena.

Elton Brand scored a team-high 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and Chris Kaman had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and made two free throws with 4.7 seconds remaining in the game to help the Clippers -- who trailed by as many as 18 in the first half -- secure another milestone victory.

The Clippers (46-33) matched the 1975-76 Buffalo Braves for the franchise’s second-highest victory total.

In their previous victory against Portland at Staples Center, the Clippers matched the California franchise mark for victories in a season, also accomplished in the 1991-92 season.

With their 19th road win, the Clippers (19-20) tied the 1974-75 Buffalo squad for the most in that category. The Braves also had the team’s all-time top record at 49-33 that season, and the Clippers could match it with wins in their final three games.

And the Clippers reduced their “magic number” to one to clinch home-court advantage against the Denver Nuggets in an opening-round Western Conference playoff series.

“It’s another game that we came back from big points down,” said Coach Mike Dunleavy, whose team has overcome deficits of at least 10 points in nine games. “It puts us one step closer to clinching with Denver.”

Of course, the Clippers still must finish sixth in the conference to face the Nuggets, assured of the No. 3 seeding.

The victory over Seattle moved the Clippers into a tie for the fifth-seeded position with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies hold the tiebreaker.

Friday’s game was the teams’ first since a Feb. 14 trade sent forward-center Chris Wilcox to the SuperSonics and brought forward Vladimir Radmanovic to the Clippers. Wilcox sat out because of a foot injury and Radmanovic struggled, missing eight of nine field-goal attempts.

Radmanovic was booed throughout the game, presumably because he expressed his desire for a fresh start after spending the first four years of his career with Seattle. Cuttino Mobley picked up the scoring slack with 18 points, and Sam Cassell contributed 14.

Ray Allen, who missed a potential go-ahead three-pointer with 6.9 seconds left, led the SuperSonics with 33 points.

Brand’s double-double was his team-leading 45th this season.

“Every night, one of us will have a matchup that we pretty much can have an advantage down there,” Brand said.

They have had to do it without Corey Maggette, who has been sidelined for five games because of a herniated disk, prompting Dunleavy to shorten the rotation of wing players.

Maggette is scheduled to receive a second epidural injection Monday, the Clippers said, and should be back in the lineup soon.

Regardless of whether Maggette returns in the final three games, Dunleavy said he would give perimeter players, and post players, time off before the playoffs begin.

“We’ll definitely cut down on minutes,” Dunleavy said. “It’s important to have our guys ready to go, and we’ve got a bunch of guys who are a little banged up.

“Until we get a home-court situation, where we know where we stand, we need to play our guys whatever minutes necessary to win.”

Yet resting starters before the playoffs is a balancing act.

“What I look at is that you cut down on minutes, but you don’t just totally sit them out, unless somebody has got some kind of injuries,” Dunleavy said. “You want them to stay in rhythm, to have that feel, and not to where they get rusty at all.”