Rookie Ross Is Giving the Defense a Boost

Nobody has suggested they’d be better off without him, but the Clippers have won six of seven games when scoring leader Corey Maggette has sat out.

One reason: They’re better defensively with Quinton Ross.

In the seven games Maggette has been sidelined and the rookie from Southern Methodist has filled in, Clipper opponents have made 42.4% of their shots and averaged 87.6 points.

In the other 38 games, they have made 43.9% and averaged 95.7.

“He’s playing so well for us,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said of Ross, who signed with the Clippers last summer after playing last season in Belgium. “He’s given us such a lift.”

Ross matched a season high by scoring 14 points in Monday night’s 96-89 victory over the New York Knicks, among them a 20-foot jump shot that gave the Clippers a 91-87 lead with 1:03 to play.

“It’s a lot to overcome,” Elton Brand said of Maggette’s absence, most recently because of a sprained joint near his left collarbone, “but Quinton Ross is really stepping up, playing great defense and hitting some big shots.”

Said Dunleavy: “Offensively, he’s efficient. Whatever’s there, he can take; he can come up with points.... When Corey’s out, it puts a little more pressure on other guys to make up those points, but so far we’ve been able to weather the storm.”

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Brand came up two rebounds short of double-doubles in his last two games after registering nine in succession but has averaged 24.7 points and 12.2 rebounds over his last 11 games. After posting eight double-doubles in the season’s first two months, he had 12 in 17 games in January.

Bobby Simmons, who missed nine of 16 shots while scoring 15 points Monday, has made only 29.8% in his last three games, among them a seven-for-26 effort Friday night at Portland. Dunleavy speculated that, because of all the Clipper injuries, fatigue might be a factor. Simmons, the only Clipper to have played in all 45 games, averages nearly 38 minutes a game.

The Clippers, 1-8 when giving up 100 points or more, have held their last 10 opponents to fewer than 100, the first time they’ve done that since the 2001-02 season, but have lost six of the 10 games.