Clippers get some magic back

Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy isn’t the type to panic, though he’s eager for signs of encouragement in the team’s poor start.

Dunleavy got one Sunday night in the Clippers’ 116-91 victory over the Orlando Magic in front of 17,117 at Staples Center.

A night after struggling in another loss to the rival Lakers, the Clippers said they had their most impressive performance of the season in ending the Magic’s winning streak at six games.

Appearing inspired after many listless starts, the Clippers built a 17-point halftime lead, withstood the Magic’s big push to start the third quarter and maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half.

Elton Brand seemed especially energized in his second outing of at least 31 points this season, taking charge against the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 13-5. Brand made 12 of 14 field-goal attempts as the Clippers shot 60.3% from the field and scored their most points this season.

Long-range shooter Tim Thomas also was productive, contributing 20 points and making five of seven three-pointers. Shaun Livingston led the team with 10 assists, and Sam Cassell had nine.

Dwight Howard, Orlando’s star third-year center-forward, had many showstopping dunks on power post moves and lob passes but grabbed only seven rebounds, nearly seven fewer than his league-leading average.

The Clippers have lost both meetings with their fellow Staples Center tenants, are winless (0-6) on the road and have rarely followed Dunleavy’s script well, but he said it was like old times again against Orlando.

“Obviously, I’m really pleased with the way we played,” Dunleavy said. “For 48 minutes, we played a really good game, maybe our best game of the year.

“We had good ball movement and good offensive execution. We made shots, which allowed our defense to be set. Hopefully, we can build on this game and go forward from here.”

The Clippers (8-8) finished well in improving to 8-2 as the home team at Staples.

The Magic pulled to within eight points with 7 minutes 22 seconds remaining in the third quarter, but then Thomas’ three-point basket extended the Clippers’ lead to 74-63. Orlando cut the lead to nine points with 5:17 left in the quarter, but Brand connected from 19 feet to give the Clippers an 80-69 advantage.

From there, Orlando trailed by at least 10 points for the remainder of the game. It seemed the Clippers benefited from making wise decisions with the basketball.

In Saturday’s loss, the Clippers committed 18 turnovers, which the Lakers converted to 28 points. The Magic scored 10 points on 12 Clippers turnovers.

“Our turnovers were low,” said center Chris Kaman, who had 12 points and six rebounds. “We did a great job tonight. This is the first time we’ve played well, I think, all season.”

Brand agreed, saying the Clippers hadn’t had an all-around strong performance until Sunday.

“I’ve been disappointed with how we’ve been playing offensively, and that kind of starts with me,” said Brand, who had 17 points in the first quarter. “I just wanted to be aggressive.

“I felt I had to step up and make some things happen for this ballclub to win some games. We’ve been fighting it too much, but when we move the ball and share the ball, good things come.”

With the Clippers shooting well, Brand was too much to handle for the Magic.

“Brand was hurting us so bad, we had to start double-teaming him,” Coach Brian Hill said. “That’s where you have to pick your poison and decide if you’re going to let him score in the post, or if you’re going to make them move the ball around and find open people. They made a lot of perimeter shots while we were double-teaming him.”

jason.reid@latimes.com