[excerpt] Maggette played 20 minutes in his first home game since Dec. 5 and scored six points. He separated a ligament in his left foot in a loss to Miami that night, then missed the next 39 games before returning to the lineup with 12 points in Friday's 105-103 loss at Utah.
"It's only my second game back, so the more I play, the more it's going to get better," Maggette said. "You just try to fit in with what Coach is doing right now and get back to where I need to be."
Maggette, who received a standing ovation from the crowd of 16,796 when he entered the game with 27 seconds left in the first quarter, was 0-for-3 in the opening half and finished 1-for-5. He had 12 points in 25 minutes Friday, and is 4-for-16 from the field since returning to the lineup.
"We've have chemistry that we've been building with him not playing, so we're trying to fit him in," Clippers center Chris Kaman said. "People can't be so critical of him. I mean, let him play three or five games. Corey's a great player, but he hasn't played in three months, so you've got to give him some time to get back into the swing of things."
Memphis, playing for the first time since last Wednesday's victory over New York, outscored Los Angeles 11-0 during a 4:06 span to turn a three-point deficit into a 73-65 lead with 3:22 left in the third quarter.
Memphis Grizzlies' Mike Miller, center, drives down the court while guarded by Los Angeles Clippers' Vladimir Radmanovic, of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Elton Brand during the second half of the Grizzlies' 102-86 victory in an NBA basketball game, Sunday, March 5, 2006, in Los Angeles.
"We just weren't there tonight, defensively," Kaman said. "They got a lot of easy stuff off the dribble, taking it to the hole. Our rotations weren't where we were supposed to be, and coverages got messed up a lot."
The Clippers got as close as seven points in the fourth, but Miller helped fuel a 17-7 run with 10 points, including a 3-pointer that extended the Grizzlies' margin to 98-81 with 3:21 to play.
"His long-range shot really hurt us," Brand said. "His 3-bombs were devastating. Every time we scored and tried to make a run, he pulled up on the break and knocked one down. And that put it out of reach. But the defense was terrible against Miller. We didn't help out enough on the screens and he was getting open looks. It was disappointing, because we know he's a shooter."
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