Todd Says ‘Shoo’ to Nesby; Clippers Lose to Mavericks

In losing their eighth consecutive game, the Clippers had some positives in a 112-102 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night.

But whatever good the Clippers showed, it was overshadowed by a halftime run-in between interim Coach Jim Todd and Tyrone Nesby, which led to the second-year swingman’s being benched the entire second half.

After Todd took Nesby out of the game for not hustling on a play in the second quarter, the two had words in the locker room during intermission. Nesby said Todd was not only upset about his first-half play but also because he had written former teammate Troy Hudson’s name on his sneakers. Hudson, a close friend of Nesby, was waived Monday after starting 38 games this season.

“When he took me out, I got mad because I didn’t feel like [the play, which led to a Dallas layup] was my fault,” said Nesby, who played despite a badly sprained right middle finger. “Then he comes in here complaining about my shoes and he told me I wasn’t going to play the last 10 games.

“That’s cool with me because they can just put me on injured reserve. I’m not going to just sit on the bench for 10 games and not play.”

Todd said Nesby, who made four of six shots in the first half, did not play the final two quarters for disciplinary reasons.

“We’re trying to give it our best effort night in and night out,” Todd said about the Clippers, who dropped to 3-23 since he took over for Chris Ford in February. “That’s all I can ask and they’re doing it.”

With Lamar Odom and Maurice Taylor out because of injuries, the Clippers didn’t roll over and lose to the Mavericks. They fought back from deficits all night and received strong efforts from shooting guard Eric Piatkowski and center Michael Olowokandi.

Piatkowski had a game-high 28 points, including five-of-six shooting from behind the three-point line, and Olowokandi had a career-high 27 points to go with eight rebounds.

But the Clippers needed more than Piatkowski and Olowokandi to prevent them from losing to Dallas for the sixth time in a row. The Mavericks, who have won four consecutive road games, did their damage from long range, making 13 of 26 three-point attempts.

Small forward Michael Finley led Dallas with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 rebounds, his fourth triple-double of the season. The Mavericks, whose bench outscored the Clippers, 34-6, also received big games from Dirk Nowitzki (20 points and six rebounds), Greg Buckner (17 points, nine rebounds off the bench), Erick Strickland (16 points), Hubert Davis (15 points off the bench) and Steve Nash (14 points, including four three-pointers).

Unlike other losses where they started fast, the Clippers fell behind Dallas early. It didn’t matter who had the ball last for the Mavericks because the result was an open shot every time they passed out of a double-team. Nash and Strickland did most of the damage as they combined for five three-point baskets in the first half.

But after trailing by seven points late in the first quarter, the Clippers used a 10-0 run, highlighted by a three-point play by Piatkowski following a no-look pass from point guard Jeff McInnis, to take a 55-51 lead at halftime.

A big reason for the Clippers’ advantage at the break was the play of Olowokandi, who looked like a future all-star against the Mavericks’ center duo of Shawn Bradley and former Laker Sean Rooks.

“Mike is getting better all of the time,” Todd said about Olowokandi. “He’s had a string of good games. He is a strong man and he is beginning to use it.”