Clippers Lost in the Moment

INDIANAPOLIS — The Clippers certainly had their moments Sunday afternoon. They moved the ball with crisp passes, snapped the net with open jump shots or drove to the hoop for twisting layups or soaring dunks. They also defended their end of the court with something resembling grit, making the Indiana Pacers pay for soft passes or hurried shots.

Then there were other moments, when the Clippers tossed the ball around Conseco Fieldhouse without a clue as to what they were doing.

In the end, the Clippers’ 108-101 loss wasn’t surprising given their frequent periods of uncertainty and ineffectiveness with the game on the line. The good simply couldn’t make up for all the poor decisions the Clippers made Sunday before an announced crowd of 15,041.

“Every time we get in trouble it’s because we’re trying to do something we’re not supposed to do,” Coach Alvin Gentry said. “The effort has been great. We’ve done some good things. The difference comes when we go four or five possessions doing things we aren’t supposed to do.”

On another afternoon, against another team, the Clippers (16-27) might have been able to get away it. But the Pacers aren’t leading the Eastern Conference with a 32-12 record and haven’t won 14 consecutive games at home for no good reason.

Over and over, the pattern repeated.

The Clippers made plays, made shots and then abandoned that style of play in favor of something else. The Pacers made them pay again and again, building a small lead to start the third quarter and, later, when the Clippers’ momentum and confidence had been sufficiently dented, rocketed to a double-digit lead.

“We lost our focus and didn’t execute, especially in the third and fourth quarters,” said forward Elton Brand, who recorded his first NBA triple-double with 17 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. “That’s been our Achilles’ heel all year.”

The score was tied, 58-58, at halftime, but then came the Clippers’ great unraveling. They committed four turnovers on their first five possessions of the third quarter, and it was all downhill from there. The Pacers heated up and made the Clippers losers for the second time in three games on a four-game trip that ends tonight in Cleveland.

“We should have won all of these games,” said Corey Maggette, who led the Clippers with 25 points on 11-for-19 shooting. “Our team is playing so well and so hard, but then we go into these lapses. Indiana picked up their intensity and aggressiveness in the second half, and maybe we got a little timid.”

Quentin Richardson, who had 11 points in 21 minutes in a reserve role, compared and contrasted the Clippers and the Pacers, coming up with the obvious observations.

“We have a lot of talent, but we just can’t seem to play together all the time,” he said. “We need to get on the same page. It seems like it’s a hard thing for us to do. You look at Indiana and that’s definitely a ballclub you try to be like. You look at the way they play and it doesn’t matter who scores. I watch their games on TV and it seems like it’s always different people who lead them in scoring.”

Jermaine O’Neal scored 18 of his team-high 21 points in the second half, took 10 rebounds and blocked eight shots.

Ron Artest and Al Harrington added 17 points apiece. Brad Miller had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Erick Strickland had 13 points on four-for-eight shooting. Jamaal Tinsley had eight points and 15 assists.

There was no weak link for the Pacers.

Indiana outrebounded the Clippers, 50-46, and outshot them, 48.9% to 42.7%. The Pacers also had 34 assists to 23 for the Clippers. Each team had 14 turnovers, although the Clippers’ seemed to hurt them so much more.

Even the return of point guard Andre Miller couldn’t save the Clippers. Miller sat out Friday’s loss at Minnesota to attend the funeral of his stepfather in Los Angeles. He arrived in Indianapolis early Sunday morning and scored 10 points on one-for-10 shooting in 32 minutes.

The Clippers also were without center Michael Olowokandi, who sat out his third consecutive game because of a bruised right thigh. His status for tonight is uncertain.