Wilcox’s Role Diminished

Chris Wilcox, who played only five minutes in Friday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs, played only seven in Sunday’s victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

A starter in the season’s first 19 games, Wilcox has played only 22 minutes in the last three. He neither scored nor took a shot against the 76ers, finishing with two rebounds, two fouls, one turnover and one blocked shot.

Asked before the game about Wilcox’s diminished role, Coach Mike Dunleavy did not refer to the forward-center by name but said, “If you’re doing a great job defensively and you’re rebounding, you’re going to have a chance to play.... For the most part, that’s what we need.

“Elton [Brand] is going to be the guy that we depend on to score [in the post]. The other [inside] guys have really got to pick up loose change. If they score besides, that’s great, but we need them to defend and rebound.”

Before Sunday, the Clippers ranked 28th in the NBA in rebounding, ahead of only the Indiana Pacers and Seattle SuperSonics.

“None of our [inside players] has met his rebounding numbers,” Dunleavy said. “I’m not happy with anybody in that department, period.”

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Backup center Zeljko Rebraca left Sunday’s game with 10:18 to play after taking an elbow to the face and suffering a right orbital bone bruise. He was listed as questionable for tonight’s game at Denver.... The Clippers’ 28 turnovers Sunday fell far short of a team record and did not come close to the franchise record. Twice the Clippers made 34 turnovers, winning both games. As the Buffalo Braves, they had 40 turnovers in a 121-100 loss to the Detroit Pistons on March 16, 1973.

TONIGHT

at Denver, 6 PST, FSN West 2

Site -- Pepsi Center.

Radio -- XTRA (690/1150).

Records -- Clippers 14-15, Nuggets 14-16.

Record vs. Nuggets (2003-04) -- 2-2.

Update -- The Clippers were 0-4 on the road in December, losing the last three games by 27, 17 and 20 points. Corey Maggette averaged 23.7 points and made 58.1% of his shots in three games against the Nuggets last season.