Clippers fade at the finish

SACRAMENTO —  There was the dunk.

“I still should have finished it,” Al Thornton said.

Then there was the open jumper from the free-throw line.

“I’ll take it every game, nine times out of 10, I feel I’ll make it,” Paul Davis said. “I think everybody here would too.”

As you might guess, in this most Clippers-like of Clippers seasons, the dunk was missed and the open shot didn’t fall. The Clippers (8-22) stumbled and fell again, losing for the fourth straight game.

Sacramento defeated the Clippers, 92-90, on Tuesday night at Arco Arena, and it should be worth noting that two of the Kings’ eight victories this season have come against the Clippers.

The Kings, coming off their worst home defeat in franchise history in a 45-point loss to the Boston Celtics, started sharply by building a 17-point lead in the first quarter, then staggered and recovered enough to come away with the win.

This was despite the fact the Kings gave the Clippers ample opportunity to push the game into overtime.

But the Clippers simply couldn’t take advantage of the gifts down the stretch, giving the Kings a significant assist by failing to score in the final 3:03.

After Baron Davis’ two free throws tied the score, 90-90, with 3:03 left, the Clippers missed their last five shots, including Paul Davis’ in the waning seconds. All the Kings had to do to win was score two points in the last 4:28, and they ended a six-game losing streak.

“I thought that we got off to a bad start in the game,” Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “We dug ourselves a hole that we had to climb out of and it took a lot of energy to do that. And down the stretch, we had some great looks we didn’t make to win the ballgame.”

The bad start contributed to the bad finish in terms of energy.

“This year that’s pretty much been an issue for us,” Thornton said. “I don’t know what’s going on. Maybe we come out lackadaisical.”

The loss wasted a stellar effort from Marcus Camby, who had 24 rebounds and 15 points, and Paul Davis, who had a career-high 18 points.

Said Camby: “I’m not a big stat guy. The only stats that count are wins and losses and right now we have too many losses.”

Paul Davis made his first start of the season, after starting only one game last season. Rookie shooting guard Eric Gordon had 24 points, including four three-point baskets and had a spectacular one-handed dunk late in the second quarter that brought his teammates off the bench.

Sacramento was led by reserve Kevin Martin’s 20 points.

Martin had missed all but two of the Kings’ last 24 games because of an injured left ankle.

Then there was Baron Davis, who landed in the news when one of his former teammates from Golden State said that Davis wanted to come back to the Warriors, which Davis denied Monday.

He looked out of sorts, especially in the first quarter and finished the game with 11 points, going three for 17 from the field.

“His back was bothering him tonight,” Dunleavy said. “He spent a lot of time on the floor and unfortunately he went to the basket and took some hits and didn’t get calls on it. And that didn’t do his back any good.”

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lisa.dillman@latimes.com