Clipper Win a Crowd-Pleaser

A capacity crowd turned out Friday night at Staples Center, most to see whether the Clippers could finally corral Stephon Marbury and others to see whether the high-scoring New York Knick point guard could continue tormenting them.

The home fans went home happier after Marbury, who scored a game-high 28 points, shot an air ball on the last of his 19 attempts and the Clippers won, 96-94, in front of 19,060, only the second sellout of the season for the Clippers.

Reserve swingman Bobby Simmons, in his first game in Staples Center since suffering a sprained left hip Jan. 16 that sidelined him for five weeks, provided the difference with a jumper from the right corner with 21.3 seconds to play.

“If you have the opportunity, you have to take it,” said Simmons, who scored 12 points, “and it was there for me tonight.”

Kurt Thomas missed two late shots for the Knicks, the last an air ball from about 17 feet at the buzzer after Quentin Richardson, who rebounded Thomas’ first miss, made the second of two free throws with 1.1 seconds remaining.

The Knicks, who opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run to take the lead for the first time since the first quarter, didn’t score from the field after Marbury floated home a driving layup with 7:05 to play.

But they still led, 94-93, when Marbury lofted an air ball with less than a minute to play. The Clippers took the rebound, and Simmons scored at the other end, taking a pass from Marko Jaric, who had 13 points and seven assists.

“Our guys did a good job of gutting this game out,” said Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy, whose team’s last three victories all have been by two points.

Richardson led the Clippers with 23 points. Elton Brand had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Corey Maggette scored 16 points.

Marbury, who had averaged 37.3 points on 58% shooting in three previous games against the Clippers this season, was foremost in their pregame thoughts. He scored 42 points on 15-of-20 shooting in a 110-104 Knick victory over the Clippers on Feb. 8 at Madison Square Garden, 20 in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t know if he just sees the Clippers coming and all of a sudden he catches fire,” Dunleavy said before the game. “I’d be willing to bet he couldn’t 42 on us with nobody guarding him, taking the same shots.”

Over the Knicks’ previous three games, however, Marbury had missed 49 of 73 shots. The Knicks, retooling on the fly under team President Isiah Thomas, had lost six of seven after beating the Clippers, and have now lost their last five in a row.Marbury made three of seven shots and had 15 points and seven assists in the first half Friday.

But the Clippers led at halftime, 62-55, behind Richardson and Maggette, who combined for 31 points, 17 by Richardson.

By game’s end, Marbury had made nine of 19 shots.

“Obviously, we really held Marbury down tonight,” Dunleavy cracked afterward. “We stopped him. I think we just shut him down.”

At least they’d stopped him when it mattered most.

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Olden Polynice, waived Thursday, wore out his welcome with the Clippers, but it wasn’t because he was unwilling to work. “From a physical standpoint,” Dunleavy said, “he has not disappointed me one bit.” Polynice, 39, spent most of the season on the injured list -- most recently because of a neck strain, the Clippers said -- and played only 12 minutes in two games after being out of the NBA for two seasons.

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UP NEXT

Sunday vs. Detroit, Channel 5, 12:30 p.m. -- Four months into the season, the Clippers have not faced the Pistons, nor have they lined up against Rasheed Wallace. Wallace was injured when they defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in January and had been traded away before they lost to them last week.