Thunder clipped, now 1-11

November 20, 2008 12:22 am

— OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers turned in exactly the sort of performance Oklahoma City coach P.J. Carlesimo feared.
Carlesimo spoke before the game Wednesday night about the Clippers’ talent and the challenges that come with meshing so many new players as they are trying to do.
“There’s no question what they’re capable of doing,” he said. “I hope it takes them a little longer to figure it out.”
Instead, the Clippers got big nights from Cuttino Mobley and Chris Kaman and double-figure scoring from every starter to beat the Thunder 108-88 in a matchup between one-win teams.
Mobley had a season-high 23 points and a career-best seven steals. Kaman scored a season-high 25 points and had 14 rebounds. Al Thornton scored 20, and Baron Davis and Marcus Camby 14 each.
Mobley scored six points during a 14-2 run that saw the Clippers (2-9) cut a 15-point second-quarter deficit to three at halftime. He stayed hot in the third quarter, with 12 points coming during a 23-4 spurt that put Los Angeles in front by 15. The Clippers weren’t threatened after that.
The team had Mobley with 15 deflections.
“He’s just a smart, veteran guy,” Dunleavy said. “I’ve never had anybody even think about getting 15, so that was pretty strong.”
Kaman had four of the Clippers’ nine blocked shots to go along with his strong play at the offensive end. He and Camby made it a long night inside for the Thunder (1-11), which got just 13 points from its starting frontcourt.
“We did a great job defensively as a team, getting stops late in the second quarter and the second half,” Kaman said. “I try to be aggressive when I can but still be smart about it.”
Kevin Durant had 18 points for the Thunder and Damien Wilkins added 17.
Oklahoma City, the worst-shooting team in the league, started out pretty well with a six-point lead after one quarter. The Thunder pushed it to 46-33 after consecutive baskets by Durant — a 3-pointer and a dunk over Mobley — and eventually led by 15 before falling apart.

L.A. CLIPPERS (108)
Thornton 7-12 4-4 20, Camby 7-11 0-0 14, Kaman 11-13 3-3 25, B.Davis 5-15 2-2 14, Mobley 11-20 1-2 23, Skinner 0-3 0-0 0, R.Davis 0-5 0-0 0, Gordon 1-4 1-1 3, Thomas 1-7 0-1 2, Taylor 1-3 0-0 3, Hart 1-2 0-0 2, Novak 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 46-97 11-13 108.
OKLAHOMA CITY (88)
Green 4-11 0-0 9, Collison 2-5 4-4 8, Swift 1-3 0-0 2, Watson 2-3 2-2 6, Durant 7-14 2-2 18, Petro 1-3 2-2 4, Wilcox 1-7 2-2 4, Wilkins 5-12 5-5 17, Westbrook 4-11 2-2 10, Smith 2-5 4-4 8, Weaver 0-0 0-0 0, Sene 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 30-75 23-23 88.
L.A. Clippers 20 29 32 27 — 108
Oklahoma City 26 26 16 20 — 88
3-Point Goals—L.A. Clippers 5-16 (Thornton 2-3, B.Davis 2-5, Taylor 1-1, R.Davis 0-1, Novak 0-1, Gordon 0-2, Mobley 0-3), Oklahoma City 5-10 (Durant 2-3, Wilkins 2-4, Green 1-2, Watson 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—L.A. Clippers 51 (Kaman 14), Oklahoma City 47 (Smith 7). Assists—L.A. Clippers 24 (B.Davis 8), Oklahoma City 16 (Watson 5). Total Fouls—L.A. Clippers 19, Oklahoma City 19. A—18,312 (19,136)