Warriors Take the Wind Out of Clippers’ Sails, 92-80

To win their first game, the Clippers needed 18 tries to do so. To win two games in a row is going to be another story.

The Clippers’ modest one-game winning streak came to an end Wednesday night as the Golden State Warriors wore them down in the fourth quarter for the second time this season and won, 92-80, before 6,180 at the Sports Arena.

The Clippers, who ended a 20-game road losing streak with a victory Sunday at Minnesota, dropped to 2-23 at the halfway point of the season.

The Clippers, who failed to make a three-point shot in 11 tries and had only 13 points in the fourth quarter, were tied, 71-71, early in the fourth quarter. Golden State, which lost at Portland Tuesday night, outscored the Clippers, 21-9, down the stretch. The Warriors were the fresher team late, just as they were when the teams played last month.

“We had a lot of open looks at the basket,” said Clipper forward Maurice Taylor, who had a game-high 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds. “The shots we took early on were the same ones we had down the stretch but we kept missing them.

“We played great defense, but you can’t hold a team to 71 forever. . . . Sometime or another they were going to score. They went on a run and we couldn’t score.”

The Clippers may have lost more than the game. In the final minute, point guard Darrick Martin suffered a left knee injury. He is scheduled for an MRI today and is listed as day to day because of a hyperextended knee.

If Martin is unable to play Friday at Seattle, the Clippers will be left with only one healthy point guard in Troy Hudson, who signed a 10-day contract on Tuesday. Sherman Douglas and Pooh Richardson are already on the injured list because of groin/quadriceps and ankle injuries, respectively.

“We’ll have to see what happens,” Clipper Coach Chris Ford said about Martin’s injury. “But I think he’ll be able to go [against the SuperSonics].”

In the previous game against the Warriors, the Clippers were looking for their first victory. They thought they were in control, especially when they held a four-point lead with less than two minutes remaining. But the Clippers fell apart down the stretch and lost, 94-89.

The Clippers defended Golden State’s methodical offense better Wednesday but could not come up with a defensive stop when needed.

“I thought were playing a good solid game of basketball until . . . our offense just got shot down,” Ford said.

The last time the Clippers won at least two games in a row was January 1998, when they won three in a row. This season, winning back-to-back is a more daunting task.

On Wednesday, the Clippers started strong thanks to the play of rookie center Michael Olowokandi.

Olowokandi, who had a season-high 16 rebounds on Sunday, kept up his strong play early against Golden State’s Erick Dampier. Olowokandi, who finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, blocked Dampier’s first two shots and intimidated the Warrior shooters enough to help the Clippers race to a 13-4 lead. Taylor added the offensive punch by scoring six points.

Bimbo Coles, who has shot better than 62% from the field over the last five games, led a charge to bring Golden State back to a 24-24 tie at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Warrior rookie Antawn Jamison scored six of his career-high 22 points, and Golden State opened up a 47-43 lead at halftime.

The Clippers, who shot only 40.9% in the first half, shot better in the third quarter (52.9%), with Taylor making all four of his shots to help cut Golden State’s lead to 69-67 entering the fourth.

The Clippers scored four of the first six points of the quarter to tie the score, 71-71, before Golden State ran off nine consecutive points.

“Our shot selection was good tonight,” Golden State Coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “[But] the guys just stepped up and really defended well in the second half.”

The Clippers’ Eric Piatkowski also suffered an injury. He sprained a right knee and the Clippers list him as day to day.