Williams Thrives, but Clippers Dive

It’s difficult to imagine how bad the Clippers would be without center Brian Williams.

Even with Williams scoring a career-high 35 points Tuesday night, they lost their ninth game in a row, 108-94, to the Boston Celtics before an announced crowd of 6,641 at the Sports Arena.

“When you lose to the team you’re supposed to beat, it tells you pretty much that you stink,” Williams said after the Clippers tied their longest skid of the season.

“Remember a couple of years ago when Charles Barkley said if you lose enough games you become a loser?” said Williams, averaging 18 points, 9.7 rebounds and shooting 56% in his last three games. “How do you keep the tag that you’re a fighter, that you’re a winner when every game you come back to the locker room with an ‘L’? We’re the Bad News Bears.

“In the first quarter we were up 13 and at halftime we were up four and in the third quarter we were playing like we were in the first quarter and we lost by, what, 14 points?

“I’m a loser, everyone’s a loser. No matter if you score 35 or if you score 3.5, we all come in the locker room with an L . . . Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Bill Fitch, who began his Clipper coaching career with a season-opening 17-game losing streak last season, isn’t concerned about the latest streak.

“I can’t deal with [the losing streak],” Fitch said. “If you’re dealing with all the things I’m dealing with, that’s the last thing I’m dealing with. You say nine [losses], I couldn’t tell you what the number is. If it’s two, it’s too many.”

The Clippers, who led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter, shot 38.1% and were outscored, 36-23, in the final quarter.

Celtic guard Dee Brown had 18 of his 20 points in the final quarter as the Boston backcourt outscored its Clipper counterparts, 65-32. David Wesley had 22 points and Dana Barros added 14.

With the Clippers trailing, 96-89, Fitch inserted Terry Dehere, who missed 13 of 14 shots, in place of Brent Barry, who made seven of 12 shots and had 18 points.

It was a defensive move designed to neutralize Brown, who had made two consecutive jumpers. But Brown made another jumper after Williams made a shot for a 98-91 lead and Barros followed with a seven-foot runner with 51 seconds left to give Boston a 10-point lead.

“Everybody’s going after Brent,” Fitch said. “We gave him plenty of rope out there to play, but it’s something he’s going to have to deal with.”

Dehere has struggled, missing 17 of 21 shots in his last two games.

“You have those nights,” Dehere said. “There’s nothing you can do. It definitely won’t happen again.”

Williams, who sat out five of the Clippers’ last nine games because of a strained left arch, wore new shoes that seemed to alleviate the pain.

Williams made eight of 11 shots and scored 16 points in the first half, including 12 in the first 11 minutes, as the Clippers took a 49-45 halftime lead.

Barry, who won the NBA slam dunk contest, might have entered the wrong contest.

Barry, who ranks first among rookies in NBA three-point shooting percentage (44.2%), made back-to-back three-pointers in the second quarter and had 10 points in the first half.

Clipper Notes

Center Stanley Roberts, who missed Monday’s practice because his flight from San Antonio--where he attended the All-Star game--was late, was held out by Coach Bill Fitch because of a sore heel.