Clippers’ Losing Streak Is at Six

ORLANDO, Fla. â€”  The Clippers didn’t lose a fourth-quarter lead, didn’t miss a critical last-second shot and didn’t lament a blown late call by the officials.

They didn’t win, either.

Their losing streak reached six games Tuesday night when All-Star forward Grant Hill scored a season-high 39 points and the Orlando Magic led throughout the last 18 minutes of a 99-94 victory in the TD Waterhouse Centre.

“I like him a lot,� Elton Brand said of Hill, whose comeback after sitting out most of the last four seasons because of ankle injuries is one of the feel-good stories in the NBA.

“But I’m not rooting for him that much.�

Not when Hill’s stellar play -- he made 12 of 16 shots and 15 of 16 free throws -- helped push the Clippers into 11th place in the West, four games behind the eighth-place Lakers.

The Clippers have lost their last six games by a total of 20 points to fall a season-high six games below .500. They’re 1-6 on the current trip, 2-16 on the road since November.

Marko Jaric and Kerry Kittles, projected to be their starting guards, are back in Los Angeles nursing injuries and won’t play again this month.

Rookie Shaun Livingston, who returned to the lineup Sunday after sitting out 39 games because of a dislocated right kneecap, played the second half Tuesday with a brace on his right shoulder after bruising it in the first quarter.

“It’s been like a black cloud following us, injuries and everything else,� Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “But tonight’s loss wasn’t about injuries. We could have done a lot of things out there to win this game.�

Defend Hill better, for one.

“He played great,� Dunleavy said. “He ran the floor great, got the ball to where he could attack. He was in attack mode most of the night against us. We tried multiple guys guarding him and we just didn’t get the job done.�

Magic scoring leader Steve Francis, meanwhile, was limited to 16 points because of foul trouble but scored six in the last 45 seconds.

“I’ve got to hand it to him,� Dunleavy said, “because I thought we defended him as well as he could be defended on a couple of those jump shots that he made that were big, big shots. He just banged them down.�

Brand had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Clippers, who for the first time in their losing streak did not lead after the third quarter.

Livingston had seven points and five assists in 24 minutes but missed six of eight shots while wearing his shoulder brace in the second half.

He was injured while pulling the ball out of the hands of Magic rookie Jameer Nelson about 90 seconds after he came into the game.

“I thought I broke my arm because I couldn’t move it when I was dribbling down the court,� Livingston said later, holding an ice bag to his shoulder.

It felt almost as if his shoulder had popped out of its socket, he said, not only on that play but again in the second quarter when he was fouled.

Afterward, though, the loss seemed to pain him most of all.

“Man, it’s real frustrating,� he said. “We’re trying to work hard and pull everything together. It’s tough when you’re right there and you just can’t pull it out.�