CLIPPER WEB EXTRAS
DOWNTOWN DELIGHT - After making seven 3-pointers each in their first two games, the Clippers banged down seven shots from beyond the arc in the first half of Tuesday’s game. Only nine times in 82 games did the Clippers make at least seven 3-pointers last season.
DID YOU SEE THAT - After losing a scramble for a loose ball with the Bulls’ Andres Nocioni, Clippers guard Sam Cassell sat atop Nocioni to keep the Bull forward from getting back into the play. Just another savvy move by the 15-year veteran.
ANOTHER GAME, ANOTHER LINEUP - Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy wrote out his third different lineup in as many games, as Brevin Knight got his first start.
SCORCHING START - Clippers guard Cuttino Mobley set a personal career-best by making his first 10 shots from the field. Mobley was 10 of 10, which included a pair of 3-point baskets, en route to 24 points.
By ART THOMPSON III
This time Clippers guard Cuttino Mobley did his damage early, then helped to close out things in the end.
Mobley scored 24 of his game-high 33 points in the first half and hit a big turnaround jump shot, with 1:20 left as the Clippers remained undefeated (3-0), by defeating the Chicago Bulls at United Center.
The Clipers trailed by four points, with under four minutes to play but closed the game out on a 12-2 spurt. The biggest shot in that run was a 3-pointer by Corey Maggette, which broke an 89-all tie.
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The man known as Cat, Clippers guard Cuttino Mobley, has accepted his new sixth-man role. Going into Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls, Mobley had averaged 19 points in the first two games, sparking the Clippers to victories over Golden State and Seattle, with his clutch fourth-quarter play.
Mobley averaged 10.5 fourth-quarter points in those games and made 13 of his 20 field-goal tries. So, is it too early to designate Cat as a sixth-man of the year candidate?
“Probably,” Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. “But I love what he’s given us. He’s been great both ways, offensively and defensively.”
In in stretch run of the fourth quarter against Golden State, Mobley hit two fallaway jump shots over defender Baron Davis. Then in the fourth quarter versus Seattle, Mobley gave a lesson to rookie Kevin Durant. Each scoring situation were designed clear-out plays for Mobley.
“When (Mobley) played in Houston he was a big-time isolation player,” Dunleavy said. “There are times, particularly when the shot clock’s running down, when he’s a good person to go to.”
Dunleavy threw a change of pace Tuesday night by inserting Mobley into the starting lineup. It marked Dunleavy’s third different lineup in as many games.
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The Clippers entered Tuesday’s game leading the NBA in points per game at 117.5. In Dunleavy’s previous four years, the highest amount of points the Clippers averaged for a season was 97.2, during the 2005-2006 playoff season. The last time the Clippers averaged 100 points during a season was in 1993-94, when they averaged 103 points. They also were only 27-55 that season.
When asked if he believed the Clippers could average 100 points a game this season, Dunleavy said, “It’s possible. It depends on how (opponents) play against us. If other teams run, we’ll run. If not, we’ll play half-court.”
The Clippers will play up-tempo, whenever they can but observe a speed limit.
“We’ll play as fast as we can but safe,” Dunleavy said.
Clippers guard Shaun Livingston accompanied the team on this road trip but will depart for Birmingham, Ala., following Wednesday’s game at Indiana. Livingston has a reevaluation scheduled on his left knee on Thursday with Dr. James Andrews, who performed the extensive surgery that Livingston underwent last February.
Livingston has yet to experience any setbacks in his rehabilitation program and the current prognosis is that he is on schedule to return after the All-Star break next February, if his recovery continues without any hitches.
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The votes are in.
Mobley and Sam Cassell are the Clippers’ co-captains for the 2007-2008 season. Dunleavy said both players are the type that not only are vocal leaders but lead by example, with their play and work ethic.
“They’re both two older guys and I’m sure the other guys look up to them,” Dunleavy said.
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Clippers owner Donald T. Sterling was at Tuesday night’s game, making a rare road appearance. Sterling typically attends only the games at Staples Center.
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Veteran forward-center Aaron Williams was active for the first game Tuesday and sparingly-used forward Josh Powell was placed on the inactive list to join Livingston and Elton Brand.
NEXT: The Clippers play Indiana Wednesday night at 4 p.m., at Conseco Fieldhouse. The game will be broadcast on Prime Ticket and ESPN/710
