Cassell gives Clippers remedy

Short-handed in another rough stretch on the road, the Clippers experienced a rare feel-good moment for them Friday night in a 90-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in front of 13,696 at the Wachovia Center.

Sam Cassell, among three key players weakened because of illness or injury, came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points, Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston made clutch shots in the final 57 seconds and Doug Christie -- who contributed to the team’s strong effort on defense -- appeared to have persuaded the Clippers to extend his stay with the team.

Chris Kaman had his best game of the trip, scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

The 76ers had a chance to tie the score in the closing seconds, but swingman Andre Iguodala (22 points) came up short on a three-point shot and center Samuel Dalembert caught the ball and scored a layup for the final margin.

The Clippers held off the improved 76ers and ended a three-game losing streak. The Clippers also won for the first time in their last 10 games in Philadelphia while maintaining hope of having a successful trip.

“This was a much-needed victory for us,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said, “and it was a good victory for us based on the guys we had out.”

The Clippers (25-25) improved to 2-3 on a seven-game, 12-day trip -- their longest of the season -- despite playing without sixth man Corey Maggette, inactive for the second consecutive game because of flu-like symptoms.

Cassell also had flu-like symptoms and Tim Thomas was active but remained on the bench because of his hyperextended right knee.

With Brand in the midst of one of his worst shooting performances of the season, the Clippers said that things seemed stacked against them, especially facing the 76ers (17-34), who had won seven of their last 11, including their previous two games.

But Cassell had enough to provide a scoring spark off the bench, and the Clippers stayed cool when the 76ers went on a 19-6 run to take a 64-51 lead with 2 minutes 22 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Christie, who is expected to sign another 10-day contract Sunday, had eight points and often was in the right place on defense in the fourth, and seldom-used James Singleton made an impact off the bench.

“James came in and gave us a lift,” Dunleavy said. “Doug was solid defensively and made good plays. He’s a smart player, he knows what he’s doing, and we needed that tonight.”

With the score tied, 83-83, Brand’s shot didn’t hit the rim. Livingston grabbed the ball and made an 11-foot turnaround jump shot with one second left on the 24-second clock and 56.8 seconds to play.

“I had a sense of the shot clock when I saw that E.B. didn’t hit any rim,” said Livingston, who finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.

“Time was still winding down and I knew I had to get off a shot. I figured it was the best shot we were probably going to get, so I just let it go in rhythm.”

Although Brand went five for 15 from the field, the Clippers still turned to their franchise player in the waning seconds.

Brand made a one-handed turnaround jump shot over Dalembert to give the Clippers an 87-83 lead with 23.9 seconds to go.

“I wasn’t having a good game shooting, so I’m just glad the team has confidence in me,” said Brand, who scored 12 points, 8.8 below his average. “We were up two, we wanted to go up four, so I had to find a way to get it into the basket.

“I don’t know what kind of move that was. But you know what? It went in, which is the most important part.”

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jason.reid@latimes.com

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KEYS TO THE GAME

* Veteran leadership. Sam Cassell overcame flu-like symptoms to play 29 minutes and score 22 points with six assists.

* Getting defensive again. The Clippers got back to what worked from them last season: hustling on defense for an entire game.

* Finally, signs of life from Chris Kaman. He has been ineffective on the trip, but a 15-point, nine-rebound performance encouraged the Clippers.

--JASON REID