Gentry Struggles to Find a Positive

How tough has this season been for the Clippers?

“Nothing is good when you aren’t winning,” Coach Alvin Gentry said during another of his soul-searching pregame sessions with reporters. “Food doesn’t taste good. Shoes aren’t comfortable.” The good news, according to Gentry, is “the whining and complaining part” of the season is history.

“We can talk about everything,” he continued, “but it always comes back to the fourth quarter where we’ve lost 19 times when we’ve been up. That’s where our season has gone. That and we can’t win at home. Those two things.”

The Clippers went into Wednesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center with an 11-18 home record.

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Gentry on the Clippers’ fourth-quarter fade Tuesday against the Lakers:

“It’s a five-point game and we go and turn it over trying to do stuff we’re not supposed to be doing. As long as we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing we’ll be OK. It’s like I told the guys, we have no defense for turnovers. We shot 50% because we got good shots, then we stopped moving the basketball. We had 16 assists at halftime and ended up with 20 for the game.”

Actually, it was 14 assists by halftime, when the Clippers held a 51-50 lead, and then three in the third quarter and three in the fourth. The Clippers averaged 19.7 assists before Wednesday’s game, ranking 23rd among 29 teams.

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Lamar Odom insisted he did not foul Kobe Bryant on a third-quarter dunk attempt. Television replays available to reporters showed the block was clean, but Bryant went to the line and sank two free throws.

“It just goes to show you. When you’re a good player and you’re aggressive, you’ll get the benefit of a doubt,” Odom said.