Whether it was being overcome by fatigue on the final night of the road trip or foolishly basking after two consecutive road victories, the Clippers ended their seven-game, 12-day trip with a thud.
Had they defeated the Bobcats, the Clippers would have enjoyed the euphoria of their first three-game winning streak of the season. The road trip would have ended somewhat respectable at 3-4. Instead, the Clippers come home to face the New York Knicks with the reality that only one other Western Conference team -- Sacramento -- has fewer wins. And the Kings, with 11 victories, have only one fewer victory than the Clippers.
The game against the Knicks will be a reunion of former Clippers and former Knicks.
New York guard Quentin Richardson played four years with the Clippers, including current coach Mike Dunleavy's first year in 2003-04, before signing with the Phoenix Suns as a free agent. Richardson has said several times that he enjoyed playing under Dunleavy.
Another former Clipper, now with the Knicks, is forward Tim Thomas. The Clippers traded Thomas to New York in November, along with guard Cuttino Mobley, in exchange for forward Zach Randolph and guard Mardy Collins. Mobley never played for the Knicks. He was forced to retire because of a potentially life-threatening heart condition.
Randolph has been a potent scoring threat since joining the Clippers despite missing time because of a knee injury. This will be his first game against his former team. Collins will miss the game because of a strained calf.
The Clippers swept the two-game series last year and have won six of the last seven meetings, dating to the 2004-05 season. The Knicks have not gotten anything better than a series split since the 1997-98 season, when they completed a two-game season-series sweep.
The Clippers have a chance to go into the All-Star break with the positive thoughts of having won three of their last four games.
And with the hope that center Chris Kaman is able to return after the break and give the Clippers arguably one of the NBA's top front lines, there could be optimism for achieving a respectable finish to the season.
No doubt, Dunleavy will put on his general manger's hat during the All-Star break and contemplate whether a deal before the Feb. 19 trading deadline could benefit the Clippers now and in the future.
BOBCATS 94, CLIPPERS 73: The Clippers stayed closed through three quarters, then fizzled in the final 12 minutes in losing to the Bobcats. Charlotte has won the teams' last three meetings, dating to last year's two-game season-series sweep.
