http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/100755.html
Clippers show Kings their winning Brand
Forward would have welcomed friend Ron Artest to L.A. but settles for defeating his team.
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:28 am PST Saturday, December 30, 2006
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
Elton Brand sat in a dark corner inside the tunnels of Staples Center, slumped down in a folding chair with earphones on and a microphone in his hand.
The Clippers forward, who is known to dabble in "underground" rapping, as he called it, looked as if he was recording a track. Or, as it has been called, "puttin' it down."
He was, in fact, doing a radio interview, detailing the many ways in which he put the Kings down with 22 points in a 102-93 Clippers win Friday night.
And although there was another rapper in the house in the Kings' Ron Artest, it continued to appear as if Brand will be the lone musician playing in this studio. Brand, a longtime friend of Artest dating to their high school days, said he would welcome the chance to play with the small forward. A reported deal sending Artest to the Clippers and bringing swingman Corey Maggette to the Kings would have had Brand's approval.
"Yeah, a little," Brand said when asked if he was excited by the reports claiming Artest could join the Clippers. "But you can't get excited until something happens."
Clippers owner Donald Sterling shook his head when asked if Artest was coming his way, saying, "No, no, no." Not that Brand needed the help in this one.
The forward hit 9 of 15 shots and was one of five Clippers to score in double figures, as the Clippers broke their 14-game losing streak to the Kings in a meeting of underachieving Pacific Division rivals. The streak had been the third longest of its kind in the league, the last Clippers win coming on Jan. 18, 2003 (a 112-107 win in Los Angeles).
And if Maggette was trying to convince the courtside-sitting Kings owners that he was worth acquiring, he might have. With co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof sitting next to Sterling, Maggette scored 21 points on 7-for-15 shooting, the eighth consecutive game in which he scored in double digits.
Artest -- who wore his purple suit, purple hat and purple tie outfit afterward -- scored just five points on 2-for-9 shooting.
With no NFL team in town, Brad Miller was the closest thing to a pro quarterback in the region early.
The Kings center stood at the elbow, surveying his options as if he were Carson Palmer, then threaded a pass through the paint and connected with a streaking Kevin Martin for an easy dunk.
It was a first-quarter basket that gave the Kings an 8-2 lead. And it was a sequence the likes of which they just can't seem to repeat often enough this season.
After hitting nine of their first 14 shots and leading 20-13 early, the Kings reverted to their off-target, jump-shooting ways after so many flashes of finesse early. They finished shooting 42.1 percent (32 of 76) from the floor. The rare plot twist was Mike Bibby playing the role of lone shooter, as the Kings point guard had 26 points on 9-for-19 shooting, though the Kings hit just 3 of 15 three-pointers.
"We're a good team when we're attacking the basket and putting pressure on defense," forward Corliss Williamson said. "Of course we've got some good shooters, and need to take advantage of that. But we need to start the second halves jumping on them and going to the basket."
The opposite, however, is what happened. Down 46-45 at halftime, the Clippers used a 21-11 run to pull away for good.
"I thought the 12-minute stretch in the third quarter was the game," Kings coach Eric Musselman said.
Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin, continuing to recover from the flu, had just four points in the final three quarters and finished with 14.
Bibby scored 10 of his points in the fourth quarter, but the Clippers matched his baskets almost every time.
"We're scoring, but we're letting them score, too," Bibby said. "I was just trying to make things happen. If we would've got some stops, we would've been all right. But we couldn't get stops."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
Clippers show Kings their winning Brand
Forward would have welcomed friend Ron Artest to L.A. but settles for defeating his team.
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:28 am PST Saturday, December 30, 2006
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
Elton Brand sat in a dark corner inside the tunnels of Staples Center, slumped down in a folding chair with earphones on and a microphone in his hand.
The Clippers forward, who is known to dabble in "underground" rapping, as he called it, looked as if he was recording a track. Or, as it has been called, "puttin' it down."
He was, in fact, doing a radio interview, detailing the many ways in which he put the Kings down with 22 points in a 102-93 Clippers win Friday night.
And although there was another rapper in the house in the Kings' Ron Artest, it continued to appear as if Brand will be the lone musician playing in this studio. Brand, a longtime friend of Artest dating to their high school days, said he would welcome the chance to play with the small forward. A reported deal sending Artest to the Clippers and bringing swingman Corey Maggette to the Kings would have had Brand's approval.
"Yeah, a little," Brand said when asked if he was excited by the reports claiming Artest could join the Clippers. "But you can't get excited until something happens."
Clippers owner Donald Sterling shook his head when asked if Artest was coming his way, saying, "No, no, no." Not that Brand needed the help in this one.
The forward hit 9 of 15 shots and was one of five Clippers to score in double figures, as the Clippers broke their 14-game losing streak to the Kings in a meeting of underachieving Pacific Division rivals. The streak had been the third longest of its kind in the league, the last Clippers win coming on Jan. 18, 2003 (a 112-107 win in Los Angeles).
And if Maggette was trying to convince the courtside-sitting Kings owners that he was worth acquiring, he might have. With co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof sitting next to Sterling, Maggette scored 21 points on 7-for-15 shooting, the eighth consecutive game in which he scored in double digits.
Artest -- who wore his purple suit, purple hat and purple tie outfit afterward -- scored just five points on 2-for-9 shooting.
With no NFL team in town, Brad Miller was the closest thing to a pro quarterback in the region early.
The Kings center stood at the elbow, surveying his options as if he were Carson Palmer, then threaded a pass through the paint and connected with a streaking Kevin Martin for an easy dunk.
It was a first-quarter basket that gave the Kings an 8-2 lead. And it was a sequence the likes of which they just can't seem to repeat often enough this season.
After hitting nine of their first 14 shots and leading 20-13 early, the Kings reverted to their off-target, jump-shooting ways after so many flashes of finesse early. They finished shooting 42.1 percent (32 of 76) from the floor. The rare plot twist was Mike Bibby playing the role of lone shooter, as the Kings point guard had 26 points on 9-for-19 shooting, though the Kings hit just 3 of 15 three-pointers.
"We're a good team when we're attacking the basket and putting pressure on defense," forward Corliss Williamson said. "Of course we've got some good shooters, and need to take advantage of that. But we need to start the second halves jumping on them and going to the basket."
The opposite, however, is what happened. Down 46-45 at halftime, the Clippers used a 21-11 run to pull away for good.
"I thought the 12-minute stretch in the third quarter was the game," Kings coach Eric Musselman said.
Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin, continuing to recover from the flu, had just four points in the final three quarters and finished with 14.
Bibby scored 10 of his points in the fourth quarter, but the Clippers matched his baskets almost every time.
"We're scoring, but we're letting them score, too," Bibby said. "I was just trying to make things happen. If we would've got some stops, we would've been all right. But we couldn't get stops."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
