rebraca
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-clippers30dec30,1,2792737.story
Little Things Big for Clippers
Simmons gets inspired by his technical foul
and backup center Rebraca gets some significant
playing time in a 101-90 victory over Utah.
By Steve Springer, Times Staff Writer
It doesn't always take a big shot, a big rebound
or a big steal to win a game. Sometimes what seems
insignificant can prove to have the greatest impact.
Sometimes, the sound of silence from a referee's
whistle can reverberate through a game.
And sometimes a seldom-used star can emerge from
the shadows at just the right time.
So it was Wednesday night at Staples Center, where
the Clippers defeated the Utah Jazz, 101-90, in
front of 17,481.
The Clippers had lost seven of eight to fall to 12-14.
They were coming off their two lowest point totals of
the season and their worst shooting game of the year.
There was a sense that yet another Clipper season was
slipping away.
And with three minutes to play in the first half
Wednesday night, the Clippers trailed the Jazz by five.
Then it all turned around on the most unlikely of
circumstances. Utah forward Matt Harpring, driving
down the baseline, slid to the floor under the basket
after replays clearly showed he had traveled. The
Clippers' Bobby Simmons, taking no chances, leaned
over the fallen Harpring and placed his hands on the
ball, hoping for, at the very least, a jump. When
Utah's Kirk Snyder reached in and tried to take the
ball away from Simmons, the Clipper forward responded
by throwing Snyder to the floor.
When order was restored, the officials ruled Harpring
had not traveled, and Snyder had not acted improperly,
but slapped Simmons with a technical.
Although Utah's Carlos Arroyo missed the free throw,
Utah still got two points out of the referee's ruling
when Carlos Boozer, on the subsequent possession,
connected on a 16-foot jumper.
But while the Jazz got the best of that situation,
it was the Clippers who seemed to get fired up.
With just under 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the half,
they closed out with a 12-2 run, climaxed fittingly
enough by an 18-foot jumper from Simmons, who had
started the whole chain of events.
The Clippers had a 49-46 lead — and never trailed again.
"I think they tried to test our team," Simmons
said. "If we didn't match their intensity, they would
have won the game."
Simmons finished with 22 points and eight rebounds.
"He's one guy," Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy said, "that
if you can get him some clean looks, you can be pretty
sure the ball is going into the hole."
Elton Brand led the Clippers with 23 points and 10
rebounds. Corey Maggette added 22 points on a night
when the Clippers shot 48.6% from the floor and held
Utah, third in the league in field-goal percentage, to 43.6%.
Boozer's 23 led the Jazz.
During the halftime intermission, Dunleavy went to center
Zeljko Rebraca, who had spent the first 24 minutes in his
usual spot on the bench, and told the 7-footer to be ready.
He might be getting some significant playing time. That was
welcome news to Rebraca, who had played a total of 14 minutes
in his previous four games.
When Chris Kaman picked up his fourth foul in the third
quarter, Rebraca got the call, got his significant playing
time and made a significant contribution. He played 19
minutes, scored 10 points, got two rebounds and blocked two shots.
"He gave us a great life," Dunleavy said. "We weren't
getting the job done on the boards."
As happy as Dunleavy was with the other aspects of his
team's performance, he was particularly delighted with
the column listing steals by the opposition.
Turnovers have been a big problem for the Clippers, but
Wednesday night, there were no steals by the opposition,
the first time that has happened in franchise history.
And that was significant.
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