The Clippers really took care of the ball after the first quarter when they had 6 T.O.'s. Another interesting stat- the Clipper bench only had 3 points granted in only 31 total minutes of play. Keyon Dooling had those 3 points to go with 6 assists. But obviously right now with the starting 5 playing so well it's easy to see why Gentry is reluctant to go to the bench more.

BTW Q was put on the injured list before the game tonight- hopefully he can get well soon and get back to last season's form, but he'll be out for at least 5 games. Tremaine Fowlkes came off from the injured list to replace Q.

Said Miller: "We've got some great young talent here. We have a chance to be very good. My job is to get guys in a position where they can succeed. It's really pretty simple. But it's not all on me."

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For the third consecutive game on this trip, the Clippers held a lead going into the fourth quarter. This time they held on, sparked early by their offense but in the final two minutes by their defense.

The Clippers moved the ball so well near the end of the game that Gentry went with only Brand as a post-up player, keeping Olowokandi on the bench for the final 5:30. Gentry believed -- correctly, as it turned out -- that the quicker Brand was better suited to guard Orlando's Pat Garrity.

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Instead of yielding to Tracy McGrady's smooth drives and arcing jump shots and Darrell Armstrong's hot shooting late, the Clippers played a gritty style that had been notably absent during their first five games.

"Hopefully, I'm only three weeks away," Odom said.

That would put him ahead of schedule because the projected date for his return was thought to be late December. However, Powell said Odom has progressed to the point where he can do all of the court conditioning drills with his teammates and the individual shooting drills. The only aspect of practice that Odom definitely has to be held out of is scrimmaging.

While looking forward with great relish to his return, Odom said his focus would be to just fit into the team flow as it is now.

"Michael (Olowokandi) has picked up his game so much," Odom said. "Elton (Brand) plays like an All-Star every night. We have an All-Star point guard (Miller) and some good complementary players. So, it's not going to be that hard for me. All I have to do is play basketball and they'll push me to do the rest."

http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=11038§ion=SPORTS&year=2002&month=11&day=10>Read the entire story.

Also every Clipper who played did very well- Miller had 29 points and 7 assists, Maggette had 19 points, 6 boards, the Kandiman continued his terrific play with 21 and 10, and Dooling played good D and sank 2 huge free throws. And probably the difference in tonight's game was Pike with 21 points on 8 of 9 shooting. In the previous games seemingly every Clipper starter had solid numbers except Pike. Well he got the ball and made the most of it today for sure.

I have seen the future. Unfortunately, it looks exactly like the past.

Not that it comes as a surprise, after 22 farce-filled seasons, but this would be your all-timer. If you mess this one up, it will stand as your monument.

"That's what they're trying to do," Maggette said of the Clippers' attempts to persuade him to have surgery. He added that he won't agree to have the procedure, "Until I say so."

"All these guys are playing for a contract, which makes it tough on Alvin," Scott said, cutting to the crux of a situation that could have easily been solved by management during the off-season.

The Clippers can still salvage a .500 record for the road trip by beating both Orlando and Miami. They really need to start winning to restore some confidence and to halt their continuing slide in the standings.

The Clippers held the 76ers to 37.2 percent shooting.

"We did a good job defensively, and I felt that we rebounded the ball well,'' Gentry said Thursday. "The only alarming thing was the turnovers. We can't have that many and expect to win on the road.''

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"That shows unbelievable dedication," Coach Alvin Gentry said. "It is a big deal."