Clippers can’t close it again

Not even Donald T. Sterling is safe.

The Clippers are taking hits from all sides right now and the owner felt some of the barrage Wednesday at Staples Center.

Midway through the third quarter of the Clippers’ 113-106 loss to the Orlando Magic, Sterling left the confines of his court-side seat to turn away from the game and address an unruly fan who afterward was escorted by security from the arena.

Such is the current state of Clipper Nation, as an impassioned comeback fell short and the Clippers continued to stumble on their home court.

The Clippers (10-22) dropped to 5-12 at home this season and are losers of nine of their last 10 games.

They are 1-3 on the current six-game homestand against some of the league’s toughest opponents, with games remaining against the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns.

“For us, I don’t think it has anything to do with home or away,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “It has to do with our opponent and what our health status is. We are even at home and away. We are the same team both places.”

The Clippers are coming close but have been unable to find a way to close games out.

A game after playing the San Antonio Spurs solidly, they narrowed the score to 99-98 late in the fourth quarter, but Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson responded with three-point baskets for the Magic.

Dunleavy didn’t have to watch all of this loss, in which the Clippers rebounded twice from 18-point deficits.

He received two quick technical fouls from referee Joe Forte after arguing that Dwight Howard was receiving favorable calls, shaking fans hands on his way out, for his first ejection of the season.

Assistant Jim Eyen took the helm after the ejection.

“I was proud how our team fought back,” Dunleavy said. “We did it twice. Unfortunately, we are going to look at our film tomorrow and be disappointed with the mistakes we made.”

Before the game, Dunleavy talked about the mentality of his team, trudging through a slew of injuries and losses.

“Mentally, nobody is good,” he said. “If you are losing, nobody is going to be happy.

“You try to emphasize the positives of getting guys back and keep going.”

There were positives, in that the Clippers crossed the 100-point plateau for the first time in nearly a month, with the crowd of 15,091 alternately booing and cheering throughout the game.

Corey Maggette scored 27 points and Tim Thomas came off the bench to add 20 points for the Clippers, who shot 46.8%. Chris Kaman had 17 points and nine rebounds.

However, Sam Cassell had another off-night when it came to his shooting, making one of his 11 attempts from the field along with seven free throws.

“Sam’s been injured,” Dunleavy said. “When Sam’s healthy and in shape, he is making those shots.”

The Magic, which had lost its previous three games, has the most road wins of any NBA team this season with 16.

Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu scored a game-high 28 points and Lewis finished with 20. Howard had 17 points and 17 rebounds.

The Clippers trailed, 59-54, at halftime and were fortunate to be down by only that margin.

The Magic scored 35 points in the first quarter to take a 15-point lead, but the Clippers responded with a 12-0 run to close the gap.

Maggette scored 16 first-half points for the Clippers, who shot 52.8%. Lewis and former Clipper Keyon Dooling each had 10 points for the Magic, which shot 60% in the first half.

“Eventually, it’s going to have to go our way,” Clippers point guard Brevin Knight said.

“The last couple of games, we’ve been right there. We fought back well, but they did what they had to to win the game.”

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jonathan.abrams@latimes.com