Clippers roller coaster goes up

SEATTLE —  Each time Elton Brand thought the Clippers were on the right path again, something happened this season to shake his confidence.

The Clippers’ confusion on defense some nights, poor decision-making in most games and lack of energy throughout the season left the co-captain frustrated after many losses.

So it wasn’t surprising that Brand said he would take a wait-and-see approach from now on after the Clippers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 98-76, Sunday night in front of 16,195 at KeyArena.

Brand scored 22 points to help the Clippers (22-22) move back to .500 after they experienced another letdown Saturday in a 14-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Staples Center.

The Clippers committed a season-high 26 turnovers against Minnesota, but they rebounded well here and improved to 6-14 as a visiting team.

Although encouraged about the team’s victory on the road by a wide margin, Brand said only consistency would make him happy now.

“It seems like we’ve been turning corners a lot, or I thought we were turning corners, but we keep making the same mistakes over and over again,” he said. “We need to get to the point where we’re playing the way we’re capable of playing for a long stretch like last season. That’s what I’m waiting for, so let’s see when we get to that point.”

The Clippers quickly got into a groove Sunday against the SuperSonics.

They led by 22 points at halftime, 37 in the third quarter and limited the SuperSonics to 32.9% shooting from the field. Coach Mike Dunleavy cleared the bench in the fourth quarter against Seattle (17-27), which had won four of five and was coming off a two-day break.

Despite arriving at the team hotel about 3 a.m., the Clippers were much sharper than the SuperSonics in the opening quarter, and it appeared their oldest player had the biggest bounce in his step.

Sam Cassell, who finished with a team-high seven assists, scored 13 of his 21 points in the first quarter as the Clippers went ahead, 28-19.

The 37-year-old point guard was five for five on three-point shots -- the Clippers made 11 of 20 in their best performance from beyond the arc -- despite sitting out the second and fourth quarters.

“We had to come out aggressive tonight,” Cassell said. “I only played 19 minutes, but I set the tempo and my guys followed.”

Said Brand: “Nothing he does, on or off the court, surprises me. When he gets hot like that he’s not going to miss.”

With Cassell on the bench in the second quarter, the Clippers got defensive, limiting the SuperSonics to 12 points and four field goals in 18 attempts (22.8%).

“That’s the response we were looking for,” Dunleavy said. “Our guys came out and had real good energy on the back-to-back game. We knew we blew one [Saturday] night. We came out with a mission and we accomplished it.”

Chris Kaman seemed more focused.

After a three-point, eight-rebound performance against Minnesota, Kaman scored nine points and grabbed 15 rebounds Sunday. He also contributed to Dunleavy’s defensive plan that helped to limit Seattle star guard Ray Allen to only 15 points -- 11.1 below his average.

“We played team defense on Ray Allen,” Cassell said. “We gave [Quinton Ross] enough help to help him contain him.”

And the Clippers had no problems with the SuperSonics’ zone defense, which had caused fits for other opponents recently.

“Guys didn’t settle for three-point shots unless they totally collapsed on us,” Dunleavy said. “Once we make them, it loosens everything up for us.”

*

jason.reid@latimes.com