As Far as Fitch Is Concerned, Nothing Grand About Defeat

DALLAS —  When a coach wins his 1,000th game, it’s customary to present him with the game ball.

But what do you give a coach to commemorate his 1,000th loss?

Good question because it has never happened until now.

Clipper Coach Bill Fitch, who has coached more games than anyone in NBA history, became the first to lose 1,000 games when the Clippers fell to the Dallas Mavericks, 105-94, Thursday night before 13,510 at Reunion Arena.

“That’s a lot of losses,” said Fitch, who has compiled a career record of 897-1,000 in 24 seasons. “I didn’t enjoy any one of them. I thanked the guys in the locker room tonight for not losing in overtime. If you’re going to lose, I’d just as soon not have to second-guess the way we lost.

“It’s on to the next 1,000. It’s nice to be remembered whatever it’s for, as long as you’re in basketball, but there are some other things that I’ll probably be remembered for more than just that. I’ve been lucky to be around the game this long and coach as many games as I have.

“I’ve had some good teams and I’ve had some bad teams. I’ve had as many good teams but they didn’t get good fast enough to keep [his record] above .500.”

There was little to mark the milestone in the Clipper locker room.

“Did you all get the confetti out?” Clipper guard Malik Sealy joked. “He reached a milestone, got a cigar for him?

“Is that one you want to reach? He’s taken on some tough projects as far as the teams he’s coached. A lot coaches can’t say they’ve won a championship and he’s won a championship [with Boston in 1981]. When you take teams that haven’t done well in the past and try to change things around, you’re going to have a lot of losing seasons, but to his credit he has changed things around and made them that much better.”

The first coach of the expansion Cleveland Cavaliers, Fitch lost 229 games in his first four seasons in Cleveland and has lost 50 or more games 10 times in the last 23 years, including his first two seasons here, where he has compiled a 52-123 record.

First-year Maverick Coach Jim Cleamons, who played five seasons for Fitch in Cleveland, says Fitch is one of the league’s best coaches.

“He’s a master at what he does,” Cleamons said. “He’s been a coach for 20-some odd years in this league and I hope I’ll be around that long. I don’t know if I’ll want the 1,000 losses, though.”

Maverick reserve swingman Chris Gatling, who has a familiar bunny tattooed on his left arm, energized the Mavericks in the first half.

Gatling, one of the NBA’s best sixth men, had 22 points in 16 minutes in the first half as the Mavericks took a 57-50 halftime lead.

“I was sitting in the locker room at halftime looking for a picture of him to see if I could introduce him to any of our players,” Fitch said.

Gatling, who made all eight shots he took in the first half, scored 16 points in the second quarter as the Mavericks outscored the Clippers, 34-25.

Gatling, who came into the game averaging a team-high 17 points, finished with a season-high 27 points and nine rebounds as the Mavericks ended a three-game losing streak.

The Clippers (6-5), who trailed by 20 points in the third quarter, cut the deficit to 91-81 with 5:13 remaining, but the comeback ended when guards Terry Dehere and Pooh Richardson missed successive three-point shots and Maverick reserve center Oliver Miller rebounded a Gatling miss and set up teammate Derek Harper for a layup with 3:39 remaining.

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Lost Cause

Most career losses by an NBA coach:

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1. Bill Fitch 1,000 2. Dick Motta 965 3. Gene Shue 861 4. Lenny Wilkens 856 5. Jack Ramsay 783 6. Cotton Fitzsimmons 775 7. Kevin Loughery 662 8. John MacLeod 657 9. Don Nelson 629 10. Red Holzman 604

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