Mobley has made connection

No one has benefited more than Cuttino Mobley from the Clippers’ increased commitment to ball movement.

The offense operated efficiently as the Clippers went 6-1 in their final seven games last month, and Mobley’s shooting was among the keys to the successful stretch.

Quick passes led to more uncontested shots on the perimeter for Mobley, who consistently capitalized. In the final seven games of March, Mobley averaged 19.1 points, shot 56.1% from the field and 58.1% on three-pointers.

In his first 71 games, Mobley averaged 13.9 points, made 44.3% of his field-goal attempts and 43.8% of his shots from beyond the arc.

Mobley continued the trend against the Lakers on Wednesday, scoring 18 points and making seven of 11 shots and three of five three-pointers.

Mobley’s recent performances helped the Clippers take early leads and provided knockout blows late in games, his teammates said.

“Cuttino is playing a lot better, and the reason he’s playing so well is because he’s getting open looks,” Corey Maggette said. “People are putting the ball in his hands. When a guy is hot, people are going to him.”

It’s all about ball movement, Mobley said.

“This is what I’ve been talking about,” Mobley said. “Just move the ball around, and we can win like San Antonio and have fun in L.A.”

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Elton Brand is again among the finalists for the Joe Dumars Trophy, given to the player who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court, the NBA announced. Brand won the award last season.

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Fewer than 700 tickets -- priced at $25 and $30 -- were available for Saturday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, a Clippers spokesman said Wednesday.

Jason Reid

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The days tend to move quickly toward the end of the regular season, but time couldn’t be crawling along any more slowly for center Chris Mihm.

Unless the Lakers make the Western Conference finals, he won’t be playing this season. And even then, it’s in doubt.

“I’m hoping in two or three weeks to get on a treadmill and see how it feels,” said Mihm, who has battled problems in his right ankle for more than a year. “If the guys do some damage and make some noise, anything’s possible. The first and second round is looking like a longshot [for me]. I’ve got to get the foot right before I come back out.”

Mihm, 27, has had surgery twice on the ankle since initially injuring it in March 2006. He is in the last year of a contract that pays him $4.2 million this season, and he becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1.

Mihm, who averaged a career-best 10.2 points a game last season, wants to return to the Lakers, although he knows he needs to prove his ankle has fully recovered from his second surgery last November.

“I hope so,” he said. “I really do. It will be a long summer. I have some talking to do. This is where I want to be. A lot depends on the foot, being able to show what I can do.”

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Lakers center Kwame Brown did not play against the Clippers after reinjuring his left ankle Tuesday against Denver.

He has been in and out of the lineup since initially hurting his ankle Dec. 31. He has now been sidelined 29 games because of it, aggravating the ankle against Denver when Nuggets center Marcus Camby stepped on his foot while shooting in the second quarter.

“It just felt like it popped out of place,” Brown said. “Hopefully, the miracle treatment works and I can play Friday in Seattle.”

-- Mike Bresnahan