|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Thursday, Dec. 23 10:30pm ET
Clips' Closs helps put stops on Kings | |||||
|
| ||||||
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Keith Closs has spent most of his time with the Los Angeles Clippers as a reserve, waiting to play and wearing his hair in different and bizarre styles from one night to the next. The 7-foot-3 center was hoping his playing time would increase when Chris Ford replaced Bill Fitch as coach. It didn't, until the injury bug hit the team. On Thursday night, Closs had nine points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes in a 97-91 victory over the Sacramento Kings. "It's just becoming a real fun experience," said the 212-pound Closs, who broke David Robinson's career and single-season records for blocks per game during his two seasons at Central Connecticut State. "If I don't play and I'm sitting on the bench, then I'm not showing why I have the contract I was given. It makes me look bad, and it raises questions with other general managers around the league. "They wonder, 'What is this guy doing? Is he a head case? Does he not work hard? What is it? They say he's got this height, but we don't see it because he's sitting at the end of the bench.' I was brought here to block shots, play good defense and and grab rebounds." Troy Hudson, one of six Clippers players to score in double figures, had 16 points and 10 assists. Maurice Taylor, returning from a one-game bout with the flu, added 14 points and 10 rebounds to help Los Angeles win for the fourth time in six games following a nine-game losing streak. "Sacramento's a great team, a playoff team. They were in the playoffs last year -- and for us to beat them says a lot," Hudson said. With assistant Jim Todd directing the team for the second straight game because of Ford's back spasms, the Clippers recorded consecutive victories for the second time this season. They did it despite losing rookie forward Lamar Odom with 7:48 remaining after he earned his second technical foul of the game for arguing a call by referee Rodney Mott. Odom's first technical came with 37 seconds left in the first quarter, when he and Corliss Williamson nearly came to blows under the Sacramento basket after Closs blocked Williamson's shot from behind and Odom wrestled with Williamson for the loose ball. The Kings lost their fourth straight road game despite 33 points from Chris Webber, who sat out the previous two games with a strained neck. Williamson had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Sacramento was only 16-for-33 from the free-throw line and 3-for-17 from 3-point range. It also didn't help that the Clippers bench outscored their bench 37-12. "Our guys off the bench are doing a magnificent job at both ends," Hudson said. "They're getting an opportunity and they're taking advantage of it." Los Angeles used an 11-1 run to turn a seven-point deficit into a 66-63 lead with four minutes left in the third quarter. Closs' dunk put the Clippers ahead to stay with two minutes left in the period. "The bottom line is that we never quit when we're struggling, and that's good," point guard Jason Williams said. "But when we have a lead, we play not to lose -- and that's bad." Sacramento, losers in nine of its last 14 following an eight-game winning streak, got as close as 84-82 on Webber's 16-footer with 6:21 to play. But the Clippers got two clutch outside jumpers from Taylor and one by Hudson to put it away. The Clippers led 51-45 at halftime after falling behind by as many as nine points in the final two minutes of the first quarter. Webber scored 11 of Sacramento's first 18 points and the Kings used a 13-0 run to take a 29-20 lead. But the Clippers tied the score at 31 on a 3-pointer by Charles Jones with 9:08 left in the second quarter, and they ended the half with two free throws by Closs and a pair of 18-foot jumpers by Hudson. Game notesThe Kings committed 20 turnovers -- matching the Clippers' total. ... Williams shoved a television cameraman sitting on the floor under the basket, after getting whistled for an offensive foul against Hudson with 1:25 left in the first half. ... The Clippers have allowed fewer than 100 points in six consecutive games for the first time since doing it in their first seven games of the 1996-97 season under Fitch. ... Sacramento, the only team the Clippers beat during their 1-22 start last season, has a 9-25 road record against the Clippers since moving to Northern California from Kansas City in 1985. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Sacramento Clubhouse LA Clippers Clubhouse RECAPS Atlanta 108 Cleveland 90
LA Clippers 97
  | |||||