Clippers find a way out

Well, there goes the new era of Clippers basketball, one season and done.

The Clippers solidified their status as the NBA’s biggest disappointment, missing the playoffs and ending with an 86-83 loss Wednesday night to the New Orleans Hornets in front of 18,392 at Staples Center.

While the Clippers were still playing, the Golden State Warriors eliminated them from postseason contention with a 120-98 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, clinching the Western Conference’s eighth and final berth.

The Clippers lost when Rasual Butler’s three-point play with 1.5 seconds left broke an 83-83 tie. The Clippers called timeout to set up a play, but Elton Brand’s desperation jumper came after the clock expired.

On vacation now, the Clippers have a lot to consider during their time off.

“Obviously, I’m disappointed that we lost the game tonight,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “Unfortunately, by halftime, we knew Golden State was up 18 at the half. Our guys came out a little bit flat.”

The Clippers will return to familiar surroundings in the NBA draft lottery, costing owner Donald T. Sterling the revenue from at least two postseason games at Staples. The team last season posted its highest victory total in California, set a franchise mark for road victories, made its first playoff appearance in nine seasons, won a postseason series for the first time in 30 years and advanced to Game 7 of the conference semifinals against the Phoenix Suns.

The Clippers won’t need as much space in their next media guide for the accomplishments of the 2006-07 season.

They were expected to contend for the Pacific Division title and be among the conference’s top teams, but they finished under .500 at 40-42.

They delivered their most uninspired performance of the season Sunday in a loss at Staples to the Sacramento Kings with a playoff berth at stake, prompting Brand to criticize his teammates’ effort.

And they confounded NBA analysts who thought last season would be a springboard to bigger things for them, playing poorly for most of the season and being labeled as underachievers.

“Winning is a process,” said Sam Cassell, who was injured for much of the season.

“We won last year, but this ballclub is still learning how to win. There were a lot of good things that happened for this ballclub, but we didn’t do what we needed to do.

“There are certain things that you just can’t teach guys, they have to learn it for themselves. I wish I could have been out there to do my part all year, but physically I just couldn’t do it.”

To be sure, injuries played a part in the team’s drop-off from last season.

The Clippers missed Cassell’s clutch shooting and vocal leadership, and fellow point guard Shaun Livingston suffered a serious knee injury Feb. 26.

Moreover, Brand wasn’t as productive this season after his busy summer with the U.S. national team, and Chris Kaman’s statistics dropped across the board.

As a result, the Clippers failed in their bid to earn consecutive playoff berths for the first time since the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons.

“It’s very disappointing,” Brand said. “We definitely had the talent to accomplish more. We’ll just have to get back to work and come back strong.”

jason.reid@latimes.com