| Clippers Answer Back Authored by Graham Flashner - November 5, 2006 - 11:42 pm
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Lose twice to the Suns, and the Clippers would be shadowed by memories of last May, when a Game 7 shellacking ended their season.
Lose twice, and face questions about whether the Suns were camping out in the Clippers' heads.
The Clippers took care of all that.. “It's a sign of our growing maturity, “ said ex-Sun Tim Thomas. “The first game, they got everything they wanted. This time, we corrected that.”
When the game began, it seemed like the two teams were picking up where they left off in the playoffs. The Clippers opted to play small and quick, not bringing Chris Kaman into the game until the last six seconds of the first quarter. Shawn Marion started out defending Sam Cassell. And the Suns raced to a 9-point lead, before the Clippers asserted themselves with tighter defense and better shot selection.
Coach Mike Dunleavy, who said he hadn't seen “anything he liked” in the Clippers' first two games—including Thursday's sloppy win against Denver-- found a lot to like against the Suns.
“We showed good patience, we controlled the tempo, we pounded the ball inside,” he said.
“When we move the ball and get eight, nine, 10 or 11 touches, who can you stop?" added Cuttino Mobley.
Not Corey Maggette, apparently. Bounding off the bench to answer the bell for the second quarter, Maggette played with the controlled fury of a man who'd rather be starting.
The Suns had no answer for his drives and pull-ups in the lane; in the second quarter alone, he shot 7-10, scored 16 points, and helped the Clippers to a 36-17 explosion, an advantage they promptly gave right back in the third quarter, which began with Maggette on the bench, and ended with Phoenix outscoring the Clippers 39-24, taking an 82-80 lead into the fourth.
Maggette wound up with a team-high 23 points and 12 rebounds. Asked how he felt about coming off the bench, he shook his head and told reporters not to go there.
“My job is to play basketball,” said Maggette.
And the Clippers' job is to show fans and rivals that last year was no fluke. Last year's success brought the birth of Clipper Nation, and a season of increased expectations. Those expectations include a Pacific Division title, currently held by the Suns.
Consider the first challenge met. |
