Clippers Reserved in Beating Kings

The Sacramento Kings probably didn’t know too much about Jim Todd, Charles Jones and Keith Closs Jr., when the NBA season began, but they probably do now.

For the second game in as many nights, Todd took over for Coach Chris Ford, out because of back spasms, relied heavily on seldom-used players like Jones and Closs, and the Clippers won.

Point guard Troy Hudson had 16 points, 10 assists and six rebounds to lead the Clippers to a 97-91 victory over the Kings Thursday night before 14,315 at Staples Center.

After winning at Golden State on Wednesday, the Clippers (8-18) have won two in a row for the second time this season. The victory was their fourth in six games.

“I’m not sure what I learned, but I know it was a lot of fun to have this opportunity,” said Todd, who coached nine seasons at Division III Salem State before moving to the NBA as an assistant under Ford in 1996 with the Milwaukee Bucks. “I feel very fortunate to be able to step up to the plate and take over the team for a few days. And to top it off with two wins is frosting on the cake.”

The Clippers not only played without Ford but also without key regulars Derek Anderson and Brian Skinner, who are sidelined because of ankle injuries. Rookie Lamar Odom played only 22 minutes before he was ejected for two technical fouls.

The Clippers made up for their lack of manpower with teamwork and some key plays down the stretch from Maurice Taylor and Eric Piatkowski.

Taylor, who did not play against the Warriors because of flu, stepped up in the second half and had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Piatkowski, who made two three-point shots, finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

Jones had 12 points and Closs had nine points and seven rebounds.

“This feels so good right now, we are all really enjoying ourselves,” said Closs, who also had two blocks in 20 minutes. “We are getting a chance to get out and run against other teams without using isolation plays. It’s a lot of fun.”

Starting with the team’s pregame shootaround, the Clippers were a loose bunch. It was easy to tell the players were pleased with their inspired victory the night before at Golden State.

Even with Taylor back, Todd started the same lineup he did against the Warriors. Hudson and Piatkowski opened at guards, Odom and Tyrone Nesby at forwards and Michael Olowokandi at center.

The Clippers jumped on top of Sacramento early, taking a 20-16 lead with Nesby scoring eight points. But the Kings, who had lost three straight on the road, scored 13 unanswered points, with most of their points coming inside from Chris Webber and Corliss Williamson.

Trailing, 29-22, at the start of the second quarter, the Clippers got a lift from their new bench spark plugs, Jones and Closs. The two helped the Clippers take a 39-36 lead halfway into the period.

The Clippers led, 51-45, at the half after finishing the second quarter with six unanswered points, highlighted by the problems former Clipper Darrick Martin had against Hudson, who had 12 points in the half.

Sacramento point guard Jason Williams, who had four points in the first half, came out firing in the third quarter. Williams scored nine points in the period and the Kings used a 17-3 run to open a 62-57 lead.

But again the Clippers came back, this time with Taylor joining Closs and Jones to lead the way. The Clippers outscored Sacramento, 21-11, over the final seven minutes of the quarter to take a 78-74 lead into the fourth.

Sacramento, the leading scoring team in the NBA, had trouble making shots in the fourth quarter as the Clippers held the Kings to 17 points.

“We did a tremendous job on defense,” said Nesby, who had 13 points. “Even though Webber still got 33, we did good on defense.

“We got sidetracked for a minute but once we got it together, that was the key. No one got mad or pointed fingers at each other.”

The Clippers, who are expected to get Ford back this weekend, will get a chance for their first three-game winning streak Sunday when they host Boston.