Clipper Countdown to Record Futility at 1

Coach Bill Fitch maintains that the Clippers, the NBA’s only winless team, are being tested.

If that’s the case, the Clippers have failed 16 times in a row.

The Clippers are one loss from matching the league record for consecutive defeats at the start of a season, falling behind by 25 points at the end of the third quarter and losing to the Charlotte Hornets, 115-83, Monday night before an announced crowd of 7,492 at the Sports Arena.

The Clippers, who play the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night at the Sports Arena, have lost their first 16 games, one shy of the NBA record set by the expansion Miami Heat in 1988.

“If we won the next 66 games we’d be in good shape,� Clipper forward Malik Sealy quipped. “Everybody would forget all about this 0-16 start.�

Things are going so badly for the Clippers, who set a franchise record by losing their 20th consecutive game, dating back to last season, that they can’t even give away team T-shirts. Clipper cheerleaders threw T-shirts into the stands before the start of the fourth quarter and fans threw them back onto the court in disgust.

“We don’t dwell on it (the losing streak),� Fitch said. “Once in a while you make a joke about it. You’ve got to be able to laugh at yourself in situations that hurt.

“But I don’t think we’re a laughing stock. You’ve got to give guys credit for effort and for staying in there. But momentum is killing us right now.�

All-Star forward Larry Johnson, who needed five stitches above his left eye after bumping heads with Clipper rookie forward Lamond Murray in the second quarter, had 18 points and five rebounds.

Clipper centers Matt Fish, who got into early foul trouble, and Bob Martin were no match for Hornet center Alonzo Mourning, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds as Charlotte beat the Clippers for the fourth time in their last five meetings.

Fish, who played only nine minutes, was overmatched against Mourning, who made four of eight shots. Mourning talked trash to Fish, a rookie who spent last season in the CBA.

“He wasn’t complimenting me,� Fish said. “It seems like all I can do out there right is foul. I can’t stop from fouling out there. If you could set double figures in fouling, I think I’d be there every game.�

Martin, who was activated Monday after center Elmore Spencer was placed on the injured list because of “apparent emotional and personal problems,� looked rusty after missing the first 15 games because of a heel injury.

Mourning shook his head and ran up the court laughing after faking out Martin for an easy dunk in the second quarter.

The Clippers started the game with the NBA’s second-worst defense, allowing an average of 109 points a game. Opponents have shot a league-high 50.3% against the Clippers.

And it was evident why the Clipper defense is so bad. The Hornets shot a season-high 57.1%, making 44 of 77 shots, including eight three-pointers.

“Momentum is a vicious thing,� Fitch said. “It goes both ways. I thought through the first 14 games we didn’t show any signs of mental fatigue. We didn’t show any signs of the bottom dropping out.

“This is really the first game where the bottom just dropped out. This is really the first game where we haven’t finished strong.�

The Hornets outscored the Clippers, 20-9, in the final eight minutes of the third quarter to take an 83-58 lead going into the final quarter. They shot 67% in the fourth quarter and led by as many as 36 points.

Clipper Notes

Hornet guard Muggsy Bogues missed the second half after re-injuring his groin muscle. Bogues was originally injured in the first quarter of Charlotte’s 105-95 victory over the Knicks at New York on Nov. 26. . . . Pooh Richardson scored his 5,000th point in the third quarter on a free throw that came from a technical foul on Alonzo Mourning.

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