Clippers, Miles Spoil the Vince Carter Show

Payback is not something the Clippers have experienced too much over the years but Tuesday night they took full advantage of the opportunity against the Toronto Raptors.

Rookie Darius Miles did his part. So did Lamar Odom and Jeff McInnis. And maybe more important, so did a Staples Center near capacity crowd of 18,037.

Playing the type of up-tempo, high-flying game the Clippers are hoping to build a future around, they put together one of their most complete games of the season, defeating Toronto, 110-97, to end a three-game losing streak.

Since suffering a tough overtime loss at Toronto on Dec. 1, the Clippers have waited for another chance at the Raptors and Charles Oakley, suspended for the first game after sucker punching McInnis at a shoot-around.

And they did just that on a night when Oakley was booed during the introductions and every time he touched the ball.

“We’re starting to get a better feel for each other and our chemistry is also improving,� said Coach Alvin Gentry, whose team improved to 11-21. “We’re starting to come together.�

In his first start at power forward, Miles led the Clippers with a career-high 26 points and 10 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double. Odom, who battled foul trouble most of the game, finished with 18 points and five assists and McInnis had 14 points and a career-high 13 assists.

“Having Darius start gave us a lift because the guy can definitely play,� said center Michael Olowokandi, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. “We felt he would give us a good matchup [against Oakley]. He helps push the ball up the floor and does a great job finishing fastbreaks.�

Despite giving up 97 points, the the Clippers played solid defense on a night when they made 14 of their first 16 shots and shot 54.5% from the field.

Featuring an aggressive trapping defense which forced Vince Carter to try to beat two and three defenders all game, the Clippers held the league’s No. 2 scorer to 25 points with 12 coming in the fourth quarter. Carter, who averaged 29 points heading into Tuesday and had 46 in his previous game at Phoenix, made only eight of 17 field goals and appeared frustrated by the Clippers’ swarming defense.

“We did as good a job as you could keeping him out of the flow of the game,� Gentry said of the Clipper defense on Carter.

With a young team such as the Clippers, playing on emotion can be a good thing and Toronto found that out in the opening quarter. Although the Clippers did not talk much about their December loss to the Raptors, who played that game without an injured Carter, it was easy to tell that blowing a nine-point lead in the final 1:22 of regulation was still fresh in their minds.

To get more offense on the floor early, Gentry started Miles in place of Brian Skinner and the move worked to perfection.

The Clippers took a 20-9 lead before Toronto knew what hit it. If it wasn’t Olowokandi, who had 10 points and six rebounds in the first quarter, scoring inside, it was Odom or Miles streaking for easy baskets.

Trailing, 36-19, after one quarter, Toronto tried to make a game of it in the second behind Kevin Willis, who finished with 20 points. But the Clippers still led by 10 points at halftime, thanks to Miles, who left the game briefly after banging his left knee on the floor in the second quarter.

The Clippers continued to control the game in the second half behind McInnis, who did not have any run-ins with Oakley. McInnis even outplayed Toronto veteran point guard Mark Jackson, who finished with four points and eight assists.

“I just played basketball and all I tried to do is see Raptors out there,� McInnis said. “A couple of times I wanted to say a little something but I let our play speak for ourselves.�