LOS ANGELES — Chris Kaman is heavy and out of shape. His post presence is providing some much needed relief for the Los Angeles Clippers, though, albeit late in the season with no postseason to look forward to.
Eric Gordon scored 15 of his 26 points in the third quarter, Baron Davis tied a career high with 20 assists, and the Clippers rallied to beat the lowly Washington Wizards 123-108 on Wednesday night.
Kaman, sidelined for most of the season by a left foot injury, added 19 points in 21½ minutes in his fifth game back for the Clippers.
“I’m 15 pounds too heavy right now,” Kaman said, “and I don’t think I’m going to be back to where I was just because I’m out of shape and I get tired a lot easier. Rebounding is coming on, but my defense is still a little slow and I’m still a little behind on the plays.”
Kaman’s defensive woes didn’t take a toll on the Clippers, who scored at will in the third quarter to rally from an eight-point halftime deficit.
Los Angeles erased the Wizards’ 64-56 lead by hitting seven 3-pointers in 10 tries in the quarter. Gordon had four 3s, Kaman added eight points in the quarter, and Novak, who was 7-for-11 overall, had six points in the period.
Novak started the third with a 3-pointer in transition, and Gordon added back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Clippers within three, 68-65.
Davis played a key role with his assists, and also had 11 points and eight rebounds to help the Clippers snapped a three-game losing streak against the Wizards.
“When Baron does that, we’re going to be very tough to beat,” said Novak, who added 21 points.
“Baron Davis was terrific,” Washington coach Ed Tapscott said. “When we win games, we usually have 20 assists. We played a game with eight guys and we played a hard game last night in Utah. You don’t like to use that as an excuse, but it’s a reality.”
The Wizards have been down all season with Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood out with injuries. Washington also missed Caron Butler, who was out for the third straight night because of a sore left hamstring.
The Clippers have had their own rash of injuries, including having Marcus Camby out for the game. Camby is listed as day-to-day because of a sore right hamstring.
Kaman’s availability to play has given Zach Randolph a break in the middle. Randolph, who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, was carrying the load for the Clippers in the post while Kaman was out indefinitely.
The 3-pointers didn’t hurt, either.
“Novak is like a video game. His shot is a beautiful thing to watch, and I am definitely surprised he is left open and unguarded so much,” said the Clippers’ Al Thornton, who finished with 22 points.
“A lot of the guys did a great job of screening,” Novak said. “Baron pitched it to me, screened, and got me open. Fred did the same thing one time. Chris set some great screens. It obviously helped.”
The win was a welcome surprise for the Clippers, who only won their tenth game at home.
Antawn Jamison led Washington with 24 points and brought the Wizards within two with 6:01 remaining. But that’s the closest they would get as Gordon slammed an alley-oop dunk, and Davis hit a jumper with 2 seconds remaining.
“Just ran out of gas,” Jamison said. “We did a great job as far as matching their energy and moving the ball. As the second half wore on, we couldn’t convert offensively and defensively. With Novak and Kaman, it really gave them a deep bench. Fred Jones did a terrific job. The guys who came off the bench really elevated their game.”
The Wizards clogged the lanes on defense, forcing Los Angeles to take outside shots. That worked against the Clippers in the first half, as Gordon and Davis were limited to five points apiece on 4-for-14 shooting.
Notes: Andray Blatche started in Butler’s place for the Wizards
… Butler could see the floor against the Denver Nuggets on March 20. … “Just from what I’ve seen so far, not this day,” Tapscott said before the Clippers game. … “We’ve got another day off tomorrow, so we’ll see before we go back east, he’ll have a chance to play.” … Clippers guard Ricky Davis’ return for the remainder of the season is questionable. “At this point, it’s not anytime soon,” Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. Davis has missed eight games with major tendon inflammation in his left knee. … Juan Dixon left the game in the first half with a strained right Achilles’ tendon.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
