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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Phoenix Suns struggled for three quarters
against the team Sports Illustrated called "the worst team in
sports history" and then pulled out a key victory in the race for
homecourt advantage.
Cliff Robinson scored 22 points and Todd Day got 10 of his 18
points in the fourth quarter as the Suns dealt the Los Angeles
Clippers their 13th consecutive defeat with a 95-88 victory Tuesday
night.
|  | | The Suns' Penny Hardaway, shooting over Maurice Taylor, scored nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. |
The Clippers have the NBA's worst record at 14-63. Phoenix coach
Scott Skiles wasn't happy when asked if his team was guilty of
looking ahead.
"If that's happening, then that's an immature, unprofessional
attitude," Skiles said. "These games are huge. We've put too much
time and effort positioning ourselves, to risk throwing one of
these games away. They didn't force us into anything. We just
didn't play hard at the start of the game."
The Suns never led by more than six until Hardaway scored seven
points during a 17-2 run, turning a four-point deficit into an
86-74 lead with 4:22 left in the game.
The Clippers, who committed seven of their 18 turnovers in the
final period, got as close as 92-88 on rookie Lamar Odom's layup
with 32 seconds left. But Day made two free throws and Clippers
guard Eric Piatkowski missed a running off-balance 17-footer in the
final seconds.
"We always felt confident out there on the floor," Day said.
"No matter what team is it, guys get it going in this league. And
the longer you let them stick around, the more confidence they get.
So we wanted to come out in the first five minutes of the fourth
quarter and try to put them away."
The Sports Illustrated cover depicts three Clippers fans wearing
paper bags over their heads -- with the words "Just shoot me," on
one of the bags.
"It's true, that's all I can say," Phoenix forward and former
Clipper Rodney Rogers said in regard to the magazine's slap.
"You'd think that the man (owner Donald Sterling), after all this
time, would try to make a change. But he really doesn't care. It's
just an investment for him, really.
"I was there for four years and had to go through the same
thing. So I just feel sorry for the guys who have to go through it
now."
Odom had 26 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for the
Clippers, whose losing streak matches their longest of the season.
They have dropped 10 straight to the Suns and seven in a row to
them at home. Derek Anderson scored 25 points for Los Angeles
before back spasms forced him out of the game with 7:23 to play.
The Clippers have lost 41 of 45 games -- including a season-worst
eight straight at home -- and are two losses away from tying the
franchise record. They lost 65 games four times in 18 seasons.
Penny Hardaway added nine of his 17 points in the fourth and Shawn Marion had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns, who
maintained their half-game edge over San Antonio for the fourth
playoff seed in the Western Conference and homecourt advantage in
the first round. They lead sixth-place Minnesota by two games.
With their 11th win in 15 contests, the Suns reached the 50-win
plateau for the ninth time in 12 seasons and the 13th time in club
history. Phoenix is .500 on the road for the first time since Nov.
30.
The Suns overcame a 13-point first-quarter deficit to lead 43-40
at halftime. Anderson's 12 points helped fuel a game-opening 22-9
run by the Clippers, while Phoenix missed 11 of its first 15 shots
and committed six turnovers.
The Suns responded with an 11-2 spurt that narrowed the gap to
four points, but they didn't take their first lead until Day's two
free throws gave then a 37-35 advantage with 1:57 remained in the
second quarter.
Game notes
The Clippers are 1-14 against the five teams remaining on
their schedule _ Phoenix, Utah, Denver, Portland and Seattle. An
0-18 finish would leave the Clippers one game shy of their longest
one-season skid. They lost 19 straight in 1981-82, and again in
1988-89. ... In addition to their 10-game losing streak against the
Suns, the Clippers also have active double-digit droughts going
against the Lakers (13), Seattle (11) and San Antonio (10), in
addition to nine-game skids against Chicago and Cleveland. ... The
Suns also committed 18 turnovers.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Phoenix Clubhouse
LA Clippers Clubhouse
RECAPS
San Antonio 98
Sacramento 92
Chicago 100
New Jersey 93
Dallas 92
Portland 81
Houston 103
Denver 93
Golden State 109
Vancouver 97
Phoenix 95
LA Clippers 88
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