Skid ends for Clippers

Shades of Toronto and New York.

Just when you were thinking the theme of this odd Clippers season should be -- It’s happening again -- the Clippers did something utterly unexpected.

They won.

It was their first victory in nine games and fifth in the 20 games of the Kim Hughes era. But not only did the Clippers defeat the oh-so-hot Milwaukee Bucks, 101-93, on Wednesday night, they rallied after squandering a big lead at Staples Center.

Lead lost. Lead regained. Lead held.

This seemed destined to follow the route of the 22-point lead blown against the Toronto Raptors and the 16-point margin squandered at New York against the Knicks.

“That was a satisfying victory. It’s one of those games where you really don’t care about the stats because we played with high energy,� said Hughes, the Clippers’ interim coach. “Went through a down time in the third quarter. We became a little bit selfish.�

Hughes had reporters laughing when asked what was going through his mind when the Clippers lost their lead.

“Oh no,� he said, smiling. “Truly.�

Milwaukee, which has now lost only twice in 14 games, chipped away at the Clippers lead, which was as big as 16 points early in the third quarter, outscoring the Clippers, 31-20, in the third quarter.

Rookie point guard Brandon Jennings’ 20-foot jump shot gave the Bucks a 74-72 lead with 5.3 seconds left in the third quarter as they finished it on an 18-2 run.

But the Clippers regrouped, regained and expanded the lead with Chris Kaman and Baron Davis on the bench to start the fourth quarter and had a 10-point lead when they returned.

Kaman, who had only eight points Monday, opened with a strong first quarter (scoring 10 points) and ended up leading the Clippers with 20 points, going eight for 13 from the field.

Drew Gooden had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Davis and Eric Gordon each had 14 .

Said Gooden: “It’s something that’s been going on. We’ve been losing those type of games. But tonight we showed mental toughness and fought back after they made that run and made our run ourselves.�

The loss, for Jennings, spoiled his return to Los Angeles. He had a game-high 21 points. To start, he seemed unnerved by the hometown spotlight.

You know the Los Angeles story: Rookie comes back to home and hype and presses too hard to show off his skills. And Jennings, who was born in Compton, had gone four for 17 for 10 points, at Staples Center against the Lakers in January.

He started slowly against the Clippers, scoring only three points in the first half.

Then something unfolded. They played the third quarter. Jennings, a strong rookie-of-the-year candidate, unleashed his talent and got hot, going seven for nine from the field for 16 points in 12 minutes.

“In the third quarter I tried to spark the team a little bit. When they went to the zone it looked like we didn’t know what to do,� Jennings said.

Etc.

Hughes spoke before the game in positive terms about second-year center DeAndre Jordan, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds on Monday in the Clippers’ loss against the New Orleans Hornets.

“The more he plays, the better he’ll get,� Hughes said. “That’s why the first thing I thought when I took the job is that he’s got to play. Because he’s not going to get better watching. Clearly, he didn’t get any better just watching.

It sounded as though Jordan will be getting increased playing time in the final few weeks.

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Monster

of a month

How the Clippers have fared in March.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

*--* Opponent Result Utah W, 108-104 Phoenix L, 127-101 Okla. City L, 104-87 @Utah L, 107-85 @Orlando L, 113-87 @Miami L, 108-97 @Charlotte L, 106-98 @S. Antonio L, 118-88 New Orleans L, 108-100 Milwaukee W, 101-93 *--*