Seattle (5-7) at LA Clippers (6-3)

@tvbp1985 (999)
China
November 22, 2006 8:10pm CST
The Los Angeles Clippers might have suffered their first Staples Center loss, but they remain undefeated as a home team. The Clippers look to improve to 7-0 as a host when they face the Seattle SuperSonics (5-7) at Staples Center on Wednesday night. Despite suffering a 105-101 loss to the host Los Angeles Lakers at on Tuesday night, the Clippers (6-3) have a chance to extend their best home start in the franchise's 37-year history. Including their six seasons in San Diego and eight as the Buffalo Braves, the Clippers had never started 6-0 at home. They had opened with five straight home wins three times, and set the record of six with a 103-97 overtime win over Philadelphia on Saturday. "I'm a part of Clippers history now, so I enjoy it," Clippers forward Elton Brand said. "Just keep stacking 'em up." Brand has stacked up double-doubles in his past two games. He had 20 points and 15 rebounds in Tuesday's defeat for his sixth double-double of the season. Brand had a season-high 33 points and 12 rebounds against Philadelphia on Saturday. Tuesday, reserve Corey Maggette had 20 points, and Sam Cassell added 18 points and five assists. The Clippers let the game slip away, though, when they allowed the Lakers' Kobe Bryant to score 10 of his 40 points in the final 5:38. Bryant finished 15-for-18 from the free-throw line. "Laker fans were happy, Clipper fans were sad," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "We did a great job on Kobe. He got to the free throw line on us and that's probably the difference in the game." This is the first time playing on consecutive nights for the Clippers since the first two games of the season, a 112-104 loss at Phoenix on Nov. 1 and a 96-95 win over Denver in the home opener the following night. The SuperSonics -- 3-4 on the road this season -- ended a three-game skid with a 99-87 home win over New Jersey on Monday. Ray Allen extended his streak of scoring more than 20 points to eight games by scoring 29, also adding nine rebounds and five assists. Rashard Lewis added 20 points despite shooting a season-worst 5-for-13 from the field. Johan Petro tied a season-high with 12 points in his return to starting lineup, one game after the center was benched in favor of a three-guard starting trio. "I sat him down and told him, 'All you need is one, breakthrough game,"' Sonics (5-7) coach Bob Hill said of the 20-year-old Petro. "Maybe this is it." Seattle forward Danny Fortson has missed the last three games after he had an MRI on his sore right knee. Fortson, averaging 3.1 points, is not expected to return on Wednesday, but the Sonics hope he can come back when they begin a four-game homestand on Friday against Sacramento. The Clippers had a chance to sweep last season's four-game series with Seattle, but they lost the final meeting, 114-98 on April 16. That was the last time the Clippers suffered a regular-season home loss. Brand averaged 22.3 points and 10.0 rebounds, and Cassell averaged 21.3 points and 7.0 assists in last year's season series.
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