Brand’s Return Simply Grand

Everything for the Clippers starts with power forward Elton Brand, just in case anyone had forgotten.

It wasn’t necessary for Brand to remind his teammates, but he again showed them -- and the Utah Jazz -- how things operate when he’s on the court, leading the Clippers to a 102-93 victory in overtime Monday afternoon in Staples Center.

Brand, who sat out the previous two games because of a bruised right hip, had another big performance in his return to the lineup, scoring 35 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking a season-high seven shots.

“That’s the year he’s having,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “He’s been huge for us when we’ve really needed him.”

Brand delivered down the stretch as the Clippers overcame a four-point deficit with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. His two free throws with 19 seconds left tied the score, 87-87.

The Clippers’ leading scorer also set the tone in overtime, scoring their first six points, and eight overall, while making his three shots. The Clippers outscored the Jazz, 15-6, completing their third consecutive victory.

“We won two games in a row when I wasn’t out there, so I didn’t want the streak to end when I’m back,” said Brand, who had his 22nd double-double. “I didn’t want to let the team down, so let’s go.”

Since dropping nine of 12, the Clippers (20-14) have won three in a row for the first time since early December. They pulled to within three games of the first-place Phoenix Suns in the Pacific Division, and improved to 3-1 on a seven-game homestand.

The Clippers are still short-handed and it appears outside help isn’t on the horizon, but Brand’s return and a winning streak provided reason for optimism.

“Oh, man, to have him back ... it’s like a breath of fresh air for me,” said point guard Sam Cassell, who had 25 points, eight assists and three steals.

“I know for a fact that the whole team welcomes him back, because he brings that dimension to our team that we don’t have -- a low-post scorer and a nasty guy. Without him in the lineup, we don’t have that nasty guy.

“He’s our horse. Like I’ve been saying since October, wherever E.B. leads us is where we’re going to go.”

Things weren’t going well early in Monday’s game for Brand, who had practiced little recently because of the hip injury and was out of sync.

He missed four of five shots in the first quarter but was sharp from the free-throw line throughout. Brand converted a personal-best 15 of 17 free throws, none bigger than his last two in regulation.

Utah (19-19), first in the Northwest Division, capitalized on the Clippers’ poor defense to start the fourth quarter, going on a 12-2 run. They opened the quarter with a 72-64 deficit and led, 76-74, with 7 minutes 41 seconds left. They were ahead, 87-83, at the 1:50 mark.

Cuttino Mobley, who scored 17 points, drove to the basket to pull the Clippers to within two with 1:03 to go.

“That’s what me and Sam are here for,” Mobley said. “When we were down four, I told the guys, ‘It’s cool. We’re going to win.’ ”

The Clippers clamped down on defense, harassing the Jazz as the shot clock expired showing 39 seconds.

After a Clipper timeout, Mobley missed a shot from beyond the three-point arc and center Chris Kaman, who had 15 points and eight rebounds, grabbed the rebound and missed the put-back. But Brand rebounded Kaman’s miss and was fouled by Mehmet Okur.

“All you want to do is just knock ‘em down and put it into overtime,” Brand said. “That’s it. You can’t even think about it. It’s the same thing as in the first quarter. Just shoot ‘em up there.”

Utah ran a play after Brand’s free throws, but forward Andrei Kirilenko, guarded well by Mobley, missed a shot along the right baseline with three-tenths of a second to go, and the game went into overtime when Chris Wilcox couldn’t get a handle on Shaun Livingston’s inbounds lob pass at the buzzer.

Then Brand went to work.

“He’s been having a magnificent year,” Cassell said. “He definitely should be an All-Star this year, no doubt about it.”