Clippers Post Gain, Then Finish Poorly

Coach Bill Fitch pulled center Stojko Vrankovic aside before the Clippers faced the undefeated Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

Fitch lectured Vrankovic, who would be facing Dikembe Mutombo, the NBA’s leading shot blocker.

“We were talking about stocks in Croatia,” Fitch joked.

But it was Mutombo’s stock that rose as he got 19 points, 14 rebounds and one blocked shot and the Hawks extended their season-opening unbeaten streak to 10 games with an 89-83 victory before 8,388 at Georgia Tech.

The Clippers led, 68-63, after three quarters but lost for the eighth time in nine games after losing forwards Rodney Rogers (right leg) and Lamond Murray (head and back) in the final 3:55.

“We ran out of gas,” Fitch said. “The last five minutes we had a couple of injuries. In order to win that game we would have had to be close to perfect.”

Murray was injured when he did a back flip after going up to block a shot by Alan Henderson. Henderson pump-faked and flipped Murray onto his back with an elbow.

“I would have liked to have had a fresh Lamond coming in off the bench,” Fitch said. “He got nine minutes, but I would have liked to see what he would have done in 19.”

Rogers, averaging a team-best 16.4 points going into the game, bruised his right knee, hip and ankle when he ran into the press table while diving for a loose ball with 3 1/2 minutes remaining.

“Losing Rodney and Lamond hurt us because they had been playing well,” said guard Darrick Martin, who had a season-best 19 points. “Not that the other guys couldn’t come in and do it, but they were coming in off the bench cold.

“We made some improvement tonight. We played the best team in the East and we can measure ourselves by this game.”

The Clippers, who shot 37.5% in the fourth quarter, missed five of their last seven shots after losing Rogers and Murray. They were outscored, 26-15, in the final 12 minutes as the Hawks made 14 of 18 free throws.

Guard Brent Barry, who had a team-high 21 points, said the Clippers, coming off a 34-point loss at Charlotte on Saturday night, weren’t content merely to play well against the Hawks.

“This isn’t a moral victory,” Barry said. “We’re beyond that. Maybe we could say that if it was the first or second game of the year.”

Vrankovic, who had four points, six rebounds and two assists, played well against Mutombo before he was replaced by rookie Keith Closs after drawing his fifth foul four minutes into the third quarter.

Closs had his best game of the season, registering season bests of 10 points, five rebounds, four blocked shots and 20 minutes.

After Mutombo drew a foul against the rookie on a call that probably wouldn’t have gone against a veteran such as Patrick Ewing or Shaquille O’Neal, Fitch immediately called a play for Closs, who dunked over Mutombo.

When the fans behind the Clipper basket tried to distract Closs as he was shooting free throws, Closs calmly made both and mockingly put his finger to his mouth to silence the crowd.

Martin, who shot 34.5% in his first eight games this season, broke out of his shooting slump, making eight of 13 shots.

Martin made six of his first eight shots and scored 14 points in the first three quarters as the Clippers outscored Atlanta, 29-18, in the third quarter and took a five-point lead into the fourth.