Clipper Duo Creates a Winning Dynamic

They’re a formidable 1-2 combination for a team that’s again in contention for a division title, and who better than Elton Brand and Sam Cassell to provide the Clippers’ final counterpunch?

Brand and Cassell scored all the points in a 12-0 run that quashed the Boston Celtics’ last rally Friday night in a 98-81 Clipper victory at TD Banknorth Garden.

With the Celtics within a point, 79-78, and the crowd energized, the veteran team leaders each scored six points as the Clippers opened a 13-point lead to seal the victory.

Brand scored 20 of his game-high 30 points -- his third consecutive game with at least 30 -- in the first half and finished with 11 rebounds. Cassell made three consecutive three-pointers down the stretch, had 23 points and a team-high eight assists for the Clippers, who matched the Celtics’ second-half scoring spurts and improved to 2-1 on their longest trip of the season.

“They played hard, so we really had to fight to get this one,” Brand said. “Sam hit some big threes, and they gave me the ball and I made some shots.”

Said Cassell: “I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do, so I don’t make a big deal about it. I don’t mind taking the big shots.”

After a 3-9 stretch, the Clippers (27-17) have won 10 of 13 and are within two games of the first-place Phoenix Suns in the Pacific Division.

Moreover, the Clippers are at least 10 games above .500 for the first time since the 1991-92 season. They are 11-10 on the road, surpassing last season’s victory total with three games remaining on a six-game, 11-day trip.

The tandem of Brand and Cassell has helped the Clippers regain their groove.

“I give the Celtics a lot of credit, with how hard they played and the way they wouldn’t give up, because we played some good basketball at times,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “We put some big leads on them, and we were hoping they would fold and go away, but they just wouldn’t.

“But then ultimately, when it came down to it, we had big plays by Sam. Obviously, he went through his stretch where he banged down those threes against their zone, and E.B. ... E.B. was huge.”

Despite shooting 58.3% from the field and limiting the Celtics to 34.6% in the first half, the Clippers led by only seven points, 53-46, at halftime.

The Celtics had a 13-0 advantage in offensive rebounds and a 15-0 edge in second-chance points, but Brand’s scoring helped to give the Clippers a cushion. Overall, the Clippers shot 54.2% and the Celtics finished at 35.4%.

Boston (18-29), which routed the Clippers, 111-92, on Dec. 31 at Staples Center, charged back to start the third, going on a 13-2 run to tie the score, 59-59.

The Clippers countered with a 14-3 surge to go ahead, 73-62, on Cassell’s long jumper with 2:27 left in the quarter.

The Clippers took an 11-point lead, 77-66, into the fourth, but Boston put together another strong run behind center Michael Olowokandi, acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a seven-player trade on Jan. 26.

Olowokandi, whom the Clippers selected first overall in the 1998 NBA draft, scored six points in a 12-2 spurt that cut the lead to 79-78. Dunleavy had taken out Brand and Cassell for a rest, and the reserves struggled to run the offense against the Celtics’ matchup zone.

“We weren’t nervous, but they put some pressure on us,” Brand said. “Olowokandi hit some shots, they really came with it and cut that lead down, and we had to pull that one out.”

So Brand and Cassell went back to work. Brand took a pass from Cassell and scored on an 11-foot jumper. After a timeout, Cassell connected on back-to-back 25-foot three-pointers on passes from Brand.

Brand made consecutive jumpers from 16 and 13 feet, extending the lead to 91-78 with 2:20 remaining in the game.

After Celtic swingman Paul Pierce, who had 18 points, scored on a layup, Cassell’s 31-foot three-pointer triggered an exodus from a suddenly silent arena.

“That was definitely huge, it was unbelievable, it took the gas out of them,” said swingman Cuttino Mobley, who had 18 points. “Sometimes you make a big shot, and it kind of puts fear in the other team.

“When Sam hit that first shot, it just scared them a little bit. When he hit another one, it just froze them. Right then and there, you know it’s done.”