[excerpt] Elton Brand had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and the Clippers barely held on to beat Golden State 115-109 Wednesday night -- just hours after the Warriors swung an eight-player trade with Indiana that left their bench considerably depleted.
"It seemed that way, but the bulk of their scoring was still there," Brand said. "They still had three scoring threats on the floor. But with seven (healthy) guys playing for them, we should have held the lead a little better."
Quinton Ross scored 24 points for Los Angeles and Sam Cassell had 23, along with 13 of the Clippers' season-high 37 assists. But Livingston was sidelined for the first time this season because of a sprained right ankle and Thomas missed his second straight game with an infected left ear.
"Two of our guys who would have been best suited to play in this game were Shaun Livingston and Tim Thomas," coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Tim gives us the outside shooting against the zone, and Shaun's ability to play multiple positions is a big help against teams like that. So we were kind of short-handed, based on the way they play."
The Warriors were required by NBA rules to dress eight players to avoid a forfeit. So they activated Foyle from the inactive list despite his sprained right ankle, and signed guard Renaldo Major to a 10-day contract. Major, who played 27 minutes in his NBA debut and scored five points on 2-for-10 shooting, was playing for the Dakota Wizards -- a Development League team of the Sacramento Kings. He spent the previous two seasons in the CBA.
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