Francis Is Familiar to Mobley

Swingman Cuttino Mobley and Orlando Magic point guard Steve Francis are former teammates and best friends, so they know each other well.

Mobley said there were no surprises Wednesday night in their latest matchup, which the Clippers won, 106-94, at the TD Waterhouse Centre.

“We get caught up playing around and beating each other up a little bit,” said Mobley, who scored 16 points.

“We know each other’s plays and moves. We know what to expect, so it’s getting a little harder for me to get my little comfort spots out there.”

Mobley and Francis embraced before the opening tipoff and at the final buzzer. Francis scored a game-high 21 points for the struggling Magic.

“It’s tough,” said Francis, who also lost some of his belongings when Mobley’s Bel-Air residence was burglarized recently.

“The season is long, and you don’t want to hit your peak, but we’ve got to try and find a way to get some drives where we’re playing well consistently. Not just for four or five games, then taking it [easy] for three or four games.

“It’s not going to be easy. You have to want it.”

Things are going better for the Clippers.

“We’re playing OK right now,” Mobley said. “We’re not playing to the level we should be playing at, but we’re playing hard.

“Guys are coming off the bench doing very well. We’ve just go to continue doing that and we’ll be OK.”

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Forward-center Chris Wilcox continued his recent strong play, scoring eight points with four rebounds in 18 minutes.

“He’s been very solid for us,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “We’re getting nice, consistent minutes every night from him. He’s been good.”

Power forward Elton Brand said Wilcox’s production has provided a boost to the team’s frontline.

“When he goes out there and plays like that, it just helps all of our [big players],” Brand said. “That’s really what we need from him.”

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Orlando second-year forward Dwight Howard had 15 points and 15 rebounds. Howard leads the NBA in rebounding with a 12.5 average.