Clippers Are Constant Gardeners

They’ve been so bad for so long, one couldn’t blame the Clippers for enjoying the moment.

And there’s much for them to savor.

The Clippers are succeeding at a record pace these days, and their ledger improved again Tuesday night in an 85-82 victory over the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden.

Point guard Sam Cassell delivered his third consecutive clutch fourth-quarter performance, making consecutive three-point baskets in the last two minutes to lead the Clippers from a one-point deficit to a five-point lead with 1 minute 13 seconds to play.

Coach Mike Dunleavy and his staff, however, had the game’s biggest assist with the Clippers trying to preserve an 83-82 lead and the Knicks preparing to inbound the ball with 2.2 seconds remaining.

New York swingman Jalen Rose, unable to find an open teammate against the defense Dunleavy diagramed, was called for a five-second count, and the Clippers regained the ball on the turnover.

The Clippers fared better against the Knick defense, and swingman Cuttino Mobley was fouled after taking a pass from Shaun Livingston. Mobley made both free throws, and the Knicks failed to get off a shot as time expired.

With their fourth victory in a row, the Clippers improved to 4-1 on the six-game, 11-day trip, matching the best winning percentage on a trip in franchise history.

The Clippers have won 10 of 11, are at least 12 games above .500 for the first time since the 1974-75 season and stayed within 1 1/2 games of the first-place Phoenix Suns in the Pacific Division.

The Clippers are reveling in each milestone, and the list is growing daily.

“We felt that this road trip would be a defining trip for this ballclub,” said power forward Elton Brand, who had 25 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. “To win four out of five ... we’re having a ball out there.

“Every little milestone is important to us. We want to keep notching things off and putting checkmarks next to things.”

For much of the game, it appeared the Knicks might have something to celebrate in a difficult season.

New York, which played without injured point guard Stephon Marbury, held a 40-36 halftime lead despite shooting 31.8% in the first half. The Knicks shot 35.3% overall.

Free throws helped the Knicks keep things tight. They finished with 24 attempts compared with 13 for the Clippers.

Holding to form on the trip, though, the Clippers were sharp out of the locker room, going on a 13-4 run to take a 49-44 lead at the 7:28 mark of the third quarter. But Brand and Cassell were in foul trouble in the second half, and the Knicks rallied behind Rose, who scored a team-high 23 points.

Livingston played well in place of Cassell, who returned with 4:56 to go and the Clippers leading, 75-74, on a basket by center Chris Kaman, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds in his third double-double on the trip.

The Knicks went ahead, 78-77, and then Cassell took charge again.

Brand passed to Cassell for a three-pointer at the top of the arc, and after missing another three-point try from the same area, Cassell grabbed the ball in the left corner and drilled another, giving the Clippers an 83-78 lead with 1:13 left.

“We’ve got a chance to be special,” said Cassell, who had 13 points and five assists. “We’ve got a chance to be very, very special.”

In the Clippers’ 115-113 victory in overtime against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, Cassell’s three-pointer with 5.5 seconds remaining in regulation extended play, and the 12-year veteran scored 14 of his 27 points in the last 4:32 of the fourth quarter and overtime.

His three late three-pointers helped the Clippers pull away in a 98-81 victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday, so the Clippers said they expected another late show from Cassell.

“I had the ball at the foul line and Sam was [unguarded], so I would have thrown it to him backwards,” Brand said. “I knew to get him the ball in that situation regardless of how he was shooting earlier. That’s what he loves to do.”

Said swingman Quinton Ross: “We call him ‘Big Game’ -- that’s his new nickname around here. It seems like he just gets it done in the clutch every game.”

Dunleavy was good down the stretch too.

Rose scored on a runner and made two free throws to cut the lead to 83-82. Brand, who failed to score at least 30 points for the first time on the trip, missed a jump shot near the top of the key and the Knicks grabbed the rebound with 2.2 seconds to go.

Coach Larry Brown called the team’s final timeout to set up a play, and the Clippers were ready.

“You get lucky every now and then,” Dunleavy said. “We just did a good job of getting a feel for the lineup.

“We said we thought it was going to be one of three things. I told them when we saw the lineup I’d try to help them. We guessed right.”

The Knicks agreed.

“They definitely did have us covered,” rookie center Channing Frye said. “We need to do a better job of getting open.”

And now, the Clippers close the trip tonight against the Detroit Pistons, who have the NBA’s best record.

“It’s a very important game,” Brand said. “If we want to contend with the upper-echelon teams, if we want to show that we can compete with the top-notch teams, we have to go in there and play well. We have to expect to win.”

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Ross suffered a dislocated right pinkie in the second quarter and returned to the game.

“I’ll be fine,” Ross said. “It’s just a little swollen. I’ll be ready to go [tonight].”

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TONIGHT

at Detroit, 4:30 PST, Channel 5

Site -- The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Radio -- 1150.

Records -- Clippers 29-17, Pistons 39-8.

Record vs. Pistons -- 0-1.

Update -- Detroit is coming off a 99-98 loss Tuesday to the Hawks at Atlanta. The Pistons have the NBA’s best record, lead the Central Division by 11 games and are 21-2 on their home court. Point guard Chauncey Billups scored 25 points in the Pistons’ 109-101 victory Dec. 11 at Staples Center.

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Elite company

The Clippers are 9-1 in their last 10 games and have the fifth-best record in terms of percentage in the NBA. A look at the top five (records through Tuesday):

*--* TEAM W L PCT Detroit 39 8 830 Dallas 38 10 792 San Antonio 37 10 787 Phoenix 31 17 646 CLIPPERS 29 17 630

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