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Elton Brand drives to the hoop against Nick Collison.
Noah Graham (NBAE via Getty Images)
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Wednesday, November 22, 2006 | Los Angeles, CA Final: SONICS 95, CLIPPERS 85 |
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The Clippers perfect home record was put to an end Wednesday night as the visiting Seattle Supersonics took advantage of Los Angeles coming off of a back-to-back.
The Sonics came out strong from the three-point line setting an early tone to the game. To make things worse, the Clippers had six turnovers and gave up seven offensive rebounds in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Seattle’s game plan was clear. The Sonics knew the Clippers played down to the wire the night before against the Lakers, so they ran the ball up and down the floor, always leaving Los Angeles a step behind. Seattle was up 49-43 at the half.
The Clippers never gave up though down the stretch and made a few threats of taking away the lead. Elton Brand hit a jumper with 8:13 remaining in the final period to bring about a 75-72 deficit, but the Sonics simply had more in the tank this evening. Seattle closed the fourth strong and came away with a 95-85 victory at STAPLES.
Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis played magnificently. Lewis led all scorers with 35 points off of 14-22 shooting, plus 13 rebounds. Ray Allen complimented with 23 points.
Tim Thomas was the top scorer for the Clippers with three three-pointers and 15 points. Chris Kaman had a solid performance. Kaman finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds, and played consistent defense.
After the game, Ray Allen commented, “We caught them on the back end of a back-to-back, so we had to take advantage of them early. Even though they’re at home, we knew they played last night and we didn’t, so we had fresher legs.”
The Clippers have a three game road trip starting this Saturday in Minnesota. Guard Cuttino Mobley has high hopes commenting, “We have to go on the road, play three games, and do well. This trip can definitely unite us. We need to go on the trip and play hard. I’m optimistic of what we can do. We go on the road and play three tough teams in Minnesota, Denver, and the Kings. It’s not an easy road trip, but what in life is easy if you want to succeed?”
Los Angeles’ next home game is Wednesday the 29th against the Memphis Grizzlies.
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On the game... “I thought we came out in the first quarter and set the tone for our game. We were getting outworked, and it was disappointing to see. We made some good runs back, two times during the game, but we could never get it under control for ourselves. Big shots by Ray Allen or Rashard Lewis kept us at bay.”
On the offensive futility...
On the Clippers' defense...
On tonight’s game... “I think early on we weren’t making shots and that caught up with us in the end. Rashard Lewis started getting hot in the first quarter and he continued making big shots. Luke Ridnour started getting penetration and Ray Allen started hitting big shots as well. It’s tough, this was a day where we needed to shoot the ball well and we didn’t execute the way we wanted to and it hurt us.”
On the upcoming road trip...
On tonight’s game... “We’re giving other teams confidence. We are starting off flat and missing easy shots, letting them get easy lay-ups. We need to soul search a little. Rashard Lewis had a great game and Ray Allen followed it up. We didn’t have that many turnovers, yet we didn’t have many rebounds. They out-rebounded us and we are the bigger team.”
On the upcoming road trip...
On the Sonics' defense against Cassell and Brand... “One thing you have to do with Sam [Cassell] is keep him contained and I think he only got one three point play off. He got Luke [Ridnour] one time. We really emphasized staying with him, staying down. He’s a great player. He’s very clever. With Elton [Brand] we changed up our coverages just a little bit. The thing that is pleasing to me is that our guys are remembering that. We’re making adjustments in time-outs and they’re doing it.”
On Rashard Lewis...
On Luke Ridnour...
On tonight’s win... “This is big for us. You can call it a win streak, we’ve got two. It’s good for us. We’ve got a chance at home to get back to .500. That’s all you can ask for. The Clippers are a great team, so to come in here and get this win is big for us.”
On Rashard Lewis...
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The Clippers, who finished 41 percent from the field, have shot below 50 percent from the field in every game. Last season they were 50 percent or better 21 times (17-4) and finished the campaign shooting 46.5 percent. |
