Clippers continue to stage a successful opening act

Concerned about the Clippers’ lack of practice time together because of injuries, Coach Mike Dunleavy told his assistants to prepare for a rough start this season.

This is rough?

Although the Clippers appear to need some fine-tuning, their strong opening act continued Wednesday night in a 103-85 victory over the winless Dallas Mavericks in front of 18,538 at Staples Center.

The Clippers overcame a 14-point deficit in the first half and dominated the Mavericks in the last 24 minutes, outscoring the struggling visitors, 60-35. The Clippers (4-1) lead the Pacific Division, and Dallas, which won the Western Conference championship last season, dropped to 0-4.

Dunleavy was wrong about the team starting slowly, and he couldn’t be happier.

“That was one of the best wins we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Dunleavy said. “You knew they were going to come out and play with great energy and purpose. We got down by 14 points, and then we made some adjustments and got some great defensive play from a lot of different guys.”

Swingman Cuttino Mobley led the charge in what might have been his best game in one-plus seasons with the team.

Mobley scored a game-high 28 points, grabbed seven rebounds and frustrated All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki on defense.

Often matched one on one with the 7-foot Nowitzki as Dunleavy used a smaller lineup after halftime, the 6-foot-4 Mobley stood firm and Nowitzki struggled, missing 13 of 20 shots from the field.

“I tried to crowd him as much as possible and force him to put it on the floor,” Mobley said. “I just got lucky and my teammates helped me. We’re a pretty good team when we play together.”

It seemed the Clippers didn’t do that enough in the first half. The Mavericks had a 14-0 run in one stretch of the first quarter and led, 50-43, at halftime.

But little has gone well for the Mavericks to this point, and the Clippers added to their problems in the second half. The Clippers made 48.2% of their shots in the game compared to 39% for Dallas.

The Clippers were balanced on offense again, with five players scoring in double figures, including Sam Cassell, who had 21 points and nine assists.

Elton Brand had 12 rebounds and sixth man Corey Maggette also contributed 12, helping the Clippers to out-rebound the Mavericks, 48-38.

To this point, Maggette has performed well in the sixth-man role, and things have gone well for the Clippers too.

In the last three games, Maggette has averaged 18.3 points and 11 rebounds. He has also averaged about 30 minutes.

Maggette has been as effective as Dunleavy envisioned at providing scoring with the second unit, and Dunleavy has increased Maggette’s workload, calling more plays especially designed for him.

“He comes in and he rebounds, scores and attacks the rim,” Dunleavy said. “We play him against smaller guys, we run plays for him and get him post-ups. And with the way teams are going now, we can play him at power forward” in smaller lineups.

Brand, Cassell and Chris Kaman are the top options on offense among the starters. Mobley also is a double-digit scorer and Quinton Ross has been more involved on offense.

Among the reserves, it appears Maggette would have to contend only with Tim Thomas for the most shots. And point guard Shaun Livingston prefers to pass more than shoot, which also could be good for Maggette.

“Starting out with Sam on the floor, E.B. on the floor and Kaman on the floor, you have enough offense,” Dunleavy said. “Then you have to try and manufacture who’s going to come in and score points with that second group. This could make it a much smoother operation.”

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