Clippers Ready for Some Rest

And finally, the All-Star break.

The time off couldn’t have come soon enough for the Clippers, who again appeared weary in an 88-81 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night at the Arena in Oakland.

They finished poorly before the break, losing three in a row to the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets and Warriors -- teams a combined 19 games under .500.

And the Clippers capped this portion of their schedule with an especially frustrating loss to Golden State (24-28), which led by as many as 24 points in the second half despite playing without injured starters Baron Davis and Troy Murphy and key reserve Andris Biedrins.

Forward Vladimir Radmanovic, acquired Tuesday from the Seattle SuperSonics, scored 14 points off the bench and helped the Clippers pull to within six points with less than 24 seconds left, stirring concern among many in the crowd who presumably remembered that the Warriors squandered a 19-point lead and lost in the teams’ previous game in Oakland.

This time, however, the Clippers were running on empty and couldn’t get closer.

Guard Derek Fisher scored 21 points to help the Warriors salvage a win in the four-game series, ending the Clipper streak against them at seven.

The Clippers acknowledged they looked fatigued, missing layups and getting outworked.

The clock has signaled quitting time for the Clippers, who could use the rest.

“You could say that,” said swingman Cuttino Mobley, who had 14 points. “We got outhustled the last three games.

“My guess is that it’s energy. We just didn’t compete as a team. I guess guys are waiting for the break, thinking that we can turn it on.”

Coach Mike Dunleavy grew tired of the Clippers’ effort.

“It’s been the first time in this stretch of games where it’s happened this way for us,” Dunleavy said. “Maybe the break comes at a good time for us. Maybe we can get our heads clear and get our legs back together and make a good push in the second half.”

Despite a shaky four-game stretch, the Clippers (30-21) begin the All-Star break with their best record through 51 games since the 1975-76 season.

They’re second in the Western Conference’s Pacific Division -- four games behind the first-place Phoenix Suns -- despite playing without swingman Corey Maggette, sidelined the last 34 games because of a foot injury.

Moreover, the Clippers went 4-2 on a recent trip to Miami, Orlando, Boston, Toronto, New York and Detroit, their second-best trip, in terms of winning percentage, in franchise history.

For a team unaccustomed to consistent success, the Clippers seemed to accomplish a lot before the break, but they said they should have done more.

“Yeah, we did well with the injuries and the things that we faced, but even we felt like it can even be better,” said power forward Elton Brand, who had 15 points and 15 rebounds but missed 13 of 18 shots.

“We know how we’re capable of playing, but these last few games, we just made a lot of mistakes. It’s not the way we wanted to [go into the break], but we can use the time off to get it back together. That’s what we have to do.”

Of course, things could have been worse, Dunleavy said.

“If Corey was totally healthy, and you said to me before the season that after 50 games you’re 30-20, write me in for that. How could you not?” he said. “So to do that, along with the injuries, you’ll take it.”

After stretches of poor play, the Clippers have repeatedly rebounded. Point guard Sam Cassell, who had 16 points, said he expected the trend to continue after the break.

“It’s a long, long season,” Cassell said. “I told the guys in training camp we were going to have our ups and our downs, and that’s all it is.

“It’s not going to be easy, we’re going to have to get back and battle like we’ve been doing, and this team has the capability to do that. But anybody who’s watched us knows that we’re not the same Clippers.”