Clippers Nearly Let Big One Get Away

Having trouble sleeping?

Pop in a tape of the Clippers’ 100-94 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies at the Sports Arena on Thursday night and you’ll soon be in dreamland.

The Clippers went to sleep after building a 21-point lead over the NBA’s worst team five minutes into the third quarter.

“I’ll give you a rundown, true or false,� Clipper Coach Bill Fitch said.

“One, we’ve never been in that position before. Two, we didn’t think people would get their money’s worth. Three, somebody told them I had to have a six-month check on my heart. Four, none of the above.

“You’ve got to take the good with the bad. You’ve got to take how well we played until we looked up at the scoreboard, and I guess that put us into total shock. It’s funny now, but it wouldn’t be funny if we were still out there playing another overtime.�

The Clippers, who have little experience protecting big leads, let the Grizzlies back into the game. Blue Edwards made two free throws with 41 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 98-94.

“I don’t know where our killer instinct is,� guard Malik Sealy lamented.

The Clippers’ collapse brought out the hecklers, who could be clearly heard in the announced crowd of 5,122.

But guard Darrick Martin made two free throws with 22 seconds remaining and forward Loy Vaught blocked a layup by Edwards with 13 seconds left as the Clippers (17-25) defeated the Grizzlies (8-39) for the second time in two games this season.

The Clippers, who have won three of their last four games, have to beat teams like the Grizzlies, who have lost 12 of 13, if they want to make the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

“We put a little suspense into the game,� said Martin, who had 13 points, five assists and a season-high five rebounds. “We had an opportunity to be on the other end of a 20-point win and we needed to take advantage of it. To be a playoff team we’ve got to get better at it.�

Vaught, who had 20 of his 28 points in the second half, did a good job of checking Grizzly forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim, one of the NBA’s best rookies. Abdur-Rahim, who was averaging a team-high 16.8 points and 6.2 rebounds, missed 10 of 14 shots and had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Center Lorenzen Wright, who averaged 9.8 points in the Clippers’ first five games this month, may have hit the rookie wall, averaging 6.1 points in his last seven.

Wright, who was unable to handle Atlanta Hawk center Dikembe Mutombo in his last game, couldn’t check Grizzly center Bryant Reeves, who had 25 points and 12 rebounds. Wright had six points and seven rebounds.