Richardson Cheerfully Supports Referees

In a show of solidarity with referees Steve Javie, Derrick Stafford and Gary Zielinski, or an amusing ruse to make himself more comfortable, Quentin Richardson pulled his jersey out of his shorts in the third quarter Friday night.

“I told them I was protesting with them; I was going to protest whatever they was protesting,� Richardson, smiling, said Saturday of his wanton flaunting of the NBA dress code, which apparently had the blessing of the officiating crew.

Javie, Stafford and Zielinski were among a majority of officials who, in protest of the league’s three-game suspension of Michael Henderson for making an incorrect call in Wednesday night’s Laker victory over the Denver Nuggets, turned their jerseys inside-out Friday night and wore No. 62, the number assigned to Henderson.

Following Richardson’s lead, several other players also untucked their jerseys, among them Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks, who exuberantly snapped his out and threw it down over his shorts. “He saw me doing it and he said, ‘I’m protesting too,’ � Richardson said. “It was funny.�

In the fourth quarter, all the players’ jerseys were back in their proper place.

*

If the Clippers hope to make a serious playoff run next season, they’ll have to improve their defense.

A telltale statistic: They rank 28th in the NBA in defensive field-goal percentage, ahead of only the last-place Orlando Magic, Clipper opponents having made 45.8% of their shots. And only the Magic and Dallas Mavericks have given up more points than the Clippers, who yield an average of 98.9.

“A part of all those stats has to do with the style of game you play,� Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “I wouldn’t care if I gave up 200 points a game as long as I was getting 204, if that was our style.

“But field-goal percentage defense has to do with something we’ve got to get better at. It has to do with talking on defense, defensive matchups, playing one-on-one defense, all the things this team is weak at. It takes a while to improve upon, teaching young guys how to read, how to talk, how to defend.�

*

TODAY

vs. Detroit, 12:30 p.m., Ch. 5

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- XTRA (690/1150).

Records -- Clippers 25-32, Pistons 37-24.

Record vs. Pistons (2002-03) -- 1-1.

Update -- The Pistons, all but locked into the No. 3 playoff seeding in the East, have won three in a row after losing eight of nine. In five games with the Pistons, Rasheed Wallace has averaged 9.8 points and 6.6 rebounds over 26 minutes. Richard Hamilton averages 18.2 points, Ben Wallace 10 points and 13.1 rebounds. The Clippers are 14-11 against Eastern Conference opponents, 9-3 at home.

Tickets -- (800) 462-2849.