Clippers Manage to Fill the Void

Maybe the Clippers would have had problems Tuesday night against most teams without power forward Elton Brand, but not the Orlando Magic.

Even with their leading scorer and rebounder sidelined, the Clippers were still too much for Orlando in a 90-73 victory at Staples Center.

Brand sat out for the first time this season because of a bruised right hip, and others contributed to compensate for the absence of a player who averages 24.9 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.52 blocked shots.

Guard Cuttino Mobley scored 18 points -- despite missing 13 of 18 field-goal attempts -- to lead four players in double figures as the Clippers (18-14) won for only the fourth time in their last 13 games.

Chris Wilcox took Brand’s spot in the starting lineup and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds. Rookie forward James Singleton provided the biggest boost off the bench with nine points, 11 rebounds and strong defense in 21 minutes.

The Clippers maintained their hold on second place in the Pacific Division and moved within three games of the first-place Phoenix Suns.

It hasn’t been the best of times lately for the Clippers, and Brand’s injury could present another hurdle, but they’re still accentuating the positive.

“Since the first day of training camp, I said that if this team stayed injury free, we would have a very, very successful year,” said point guard Sam Cassell, who scored 13 points.

“But if we got hurt and banged up a little bit, we would have to fight to be in the playoffs, and that’s the way it is for us right now. We’re having to fight, but we’re not very far.

“But we still play with that intensity that we’ve been playing with all year. We’re still together.”

The Clippers received more bad news before the game, learn-ing that Brand would not play because of an injury he suffered last Friday against the Sacramento Kings in a 118-114 loss at Arco Arena.

Brand is the first option in the Clipper offense and leads the team with 21 double-doubles, so his absence was significant.

Moreover, Tuesday’s game marked the first time since March 19, 2003, that the Clippers have played without both Brand and small forward Corey Maggette, the team’s second-leading scorer, who is sidelined indefinitely because of a foot injury.

“Obviously, when you go into a game without your top two scorers, you’re giving up 46 points there, so you’ve got to figure out where you’re going to get it,” said Coach Mike Dunleavy, whose team limited the Magic to 38.9% shooting from the field.

“But our guys did a good job tonight defensively to help us a great deal. We had a lot of guys come in tonight and give us a great effort off the bench.”

Fortunately for the Clippers, the Magic (13-19) isn’t among the best teams in the Eastern Conference, and All-Star forward Grant Hill is sidelined again because of a strained groin.

Wilcox and center Chris Kaman were strong inside in the second quarter, helping the Clippers take a 44-39 halftime lead. Kaman finished with 15 and fouled out for the second consecutive game.

Cassell and Mobley helped the Clippers take command down the stretch in the third. They scored all the Clippers’ points in an 11-5 run to take a 66-57 lead at the end of three quarters.

Not surprisingly, the Clippers acknowledged their confidence hasn’t been as high as it was during their 14-5 start, but Tuesday’s performance helped.

“Confidence is a key, a lot of this is mental, and at 14-5 our confidence was through the rough,” said backup point guard Shaun Livingston, who had seven points and led the team with four assists.

“You lose a couple of games, then you start wondering if we were as good as we were. You start second-guessing and start questioning a lot of things.

“But if you run off a nice streak of wins, guys start loosening up and feeling better about themselves.”