Clippers Continue on Road to Success

And the list grows.

The Clippers added two more accomplishments to their impressive ledger Monday night in a 99-91 victory over the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.

With their sixth victory in seven games, the Clippers moved to 13 games above .500 for the first time since the 1974-75 season, when they were the Buffalo Braves.

Moreover, they also matched the Clipper franchise record for road victories at 16, set during the 1991-92 season. They are 16-16 away from home this season.

The Clippers still have many goals, and they are determined to complete the checklist.

“To be 13 games above .500 is a great accomplishment for us,” said Elton Brand, who had 15 points and eight rebounds. “We’ve been accomplishing things all year, and we just want to keep checking off notches.

“We just want to keep winning, keep improving, at this time of the season. To be 13 games above .500 this late in the season, to have our best record of the season with only 17 games left, it means that we’re learning and growing as a team.”

The Clippers (39-26) displayed their ability to adjust against the short-handed Rockets (29-38), who have dropped five straight while playing without injured All-Star swingman Tracy McGrady and guard David Wesley.

Houston, however, still has center Yao Ming, who again presented a formidable challenge for the Clippers.

The 7-foot-5, 310-pound All-Star has been playing at the highest level of his four-year career, and Yao had another big performance against the Clippers, scoring 25 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.

Chris Kaman struggled against Yao and was in foul trouble early in the first half, so Coach Mike Dunleavy went with a smaller lineup after halftime. With the Clippers leading by a point, 46-45, Vladimir Radmanovic started in place of Kaman and the 6-8 Brand guarded Yao. Brand fared well, using his strength to slow Yao’s progress into the paint, and the Clippers were sharp on quick double-teams.

“We tried to be aggressive on Yao in the second half,” said Radmanovic, who contributed seven points and 11 rebounds. “We didn’t want to let him get into his groove and pick us apart, so we ran at him on the pass. Whenever he caught the ball, we tried to double-team him.”

Although Yao produced (he was perfect on 11 free-throw attempts), the Rockets were often out of rhythm, taking long shots with the 24-second clock in single digits. Houston made only 42.9% of its field-goal attempts compared with 47.9% for the Clippers, who also had a season-high 21 fastbreak points.

“We did a much better job on our double-teams and our rotations, we were very active, Radmanovic in particular,” said Dunleavy, whose team ended a road losing streak to Houston at six games. “The defense he helped give us when Kaman got into foul trouble ... that’s why I started him in the second half.”

Trailing, 76-73, in the fourth, the Clippers went on a 21-9 run to take a 94-85 lead with 1:28 to play, with Sam Cassell’s three-pointer capping the decisive spurt.

Cassell scored a team-high 24 points, Cuttino Mobley had 14 and Corey Maggette continued to excel as a sixth man, scoring 20 in a seven-for-12 performance from the field.

After five losing seasons with the Clippers, Maggette is enjoying the moment.

“This says a lot about what the organization has done to acquire the guys it needed to acquire,” he said. “Guys stepped up to the challenge in the off-season by working harder to improve their games, and it’s been a team effort the whole way.”