It’s Not All Good for Clippers

With their playoff hopes starting to drift away, the Clippers found out Saturday that they will be without leading scorer Corey Maggette indefinitely because of an injured left shoulder.

So what else is new?

Without Maggette and veteran guard Kerry Kittles, sidelined because of a groin injury, the short-handed Clippers received a 19-point, 16-rebound effort from reserve Zeljko Rebraca and 27-point game from Elton Brand to defeat Golden State, 96-85, in front of 17,160 at Staples Center.

In winning for the third time in four games, the Clippers completed their first-ever four-game season sweep over the Warriors, who played without injured forward Troy Murphy and guard Speedy Claxton.

“We have a lot of talent and that’s how we’ve been [playing competitive basketball],” said guard Marko Jaric, who matched a career-high in assists with 12 to go along with 10 points and three steals in 39 minutes off the bench. “We’re used to playing without people. They played without me for a month. We’ve been without Corey, EB [Brand], Kerry and other guys. We know that when we’re at full strength, we’ll show people what type of team we have.”

The Clippers showed Saturday that their depleted roster is better than the Warriors, who have lost four in a row and are in last place in the Pacific Division.

Rebraca, who entered Saturday’s game averaging 3.4 points and 2.1 rebounds, was the story. After Brand picked up two early fouls and had to go to the bench, Dunleavy turned to Rebraca and he stepped up.

Not only did Rebraca score points, he was an extremely effective rebounder, grabbing so many that he kept Brand from reaching double digits for the first time in nine games.

“I feel much better with the team,” Rebraca said. “This was [my] best game of the season, but I have to continue like this.”

Things did not look good early for the Clippers, who blew a late lead in a loss at Portland on Friday. After Brand went to the bench, the Warriors took advantage by jumping out to an early lead.

With Mike Dunleavy Jr. doing most of the scoring with 14 points, Golden State led 25-21 after one quarter. But in the second, the Clippers came out strong with Rebraca scoring 11 points in the quarter.

The Clippers led 44-32 with six minutes left before halftime but couldn’t maintain their edge after Golden State outscored them, 17-5, to make it 49-49 at the break.

In the third quarter, the Clippers again started fast. Behind Brand’s inside scoring and rebounding, the Clippers needed only a few minutes to open up another double-digits lead. This time, they were able to keep a favorable cushion the rest of the quarter, taking an 80-73 lead into the fourth.

The Warriors made it interesting when Dunleavy, who finished with 22 points, made a jump shot to cut the Clipper lead to 82-78 early in the quarter. But down the stretch, it was all Clippers, who outrebounded Golden State, 54-34.

With the win, the Clippers continue to prove their resiliency.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been with a team like this,” Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy said when asked about the number of games missed by injured players this season.

“I’ve been on the other side when I’ve had years when guys did not get hurt at all.”

For Maggette, this is just his latest injury to his left side this season. He sat out two games in November because of a left ankle sprain, one in December because of a left groin strain and two earlier this month because of a left foot injury.

Now, it looks as if the Clippers will have to continue on without him for a while.