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Cassell, Clippers top Hornets for rare road win

Jan 9, 2007 - 5:49 AM OKLAHOMA CITY (Ticker) -- Sam Cassell was exactly what the Los Angeles Clippers needed to end their road woes.

In his first game since December 23, Cassell scored 31 points and Cuttino Mobley added 20 as the Clippers used a stellar fourth quarter to post a 100-90 victory over the undermanned New Orleans Hornets.

Elton Brand had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, which shot 44 percent (37-of-84) from the field and capitalized on a 45-34 advantage on the glass to pick up a rare road win.

"Our road record has been pretty bad," Brand said. "The Hornets have been struggling and we wanted to and needed to put them away, but they kept fighting and they weren't going to give it to us, they made us earn it."

One of the NBA's surprise teams last season, Los Angeles entered Monday's game with a 3-13 record away from home, the second-worst mark in the league. In the three losses on their current six-game swing, the Clippers were averaging just 88 points per game.

"It's good for us to get a win on the road, but we need to build on what we did tonight, especially without Corey Maggette," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "We've got to build up our bank of road wins; last year we were a .500 team on the road and we have to get back into that mindset and in that winning mode."

After missing nine games with a foot injury, Cassell sparked a turnaround offensively, shooting 11-of-23 from the floor and 3-of-5 from the arc, while giving the Clippers the on-court leadership they lacked.

"Well I couldn't make a 3-pointer with that new terrible basketball. Now that we've gone back to the old ball, I'm all right," Cassell said. "I got some open looks and made some nice shots for us. That's the first time all year I've hit three (3-pointers) in a game, thank goodness for that old basketball coming back."

Dunleavy was pleasantly surprised that Cassell was able to stay in the game for as long as he did.

"We didn't want to rush him back too soon, and the training staff told us there were no limitations," Dunleavy said. "They just questioned his conditioning, so as long as he was standing, we were going to keep him out on the floor."

Trailing by one point after three quarters, Los Angeles outscored the Hornets, 28-17, in the fourth to secure the victory. Cassell scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the final period.

"That run was great, James Singleton came in gave us a lot of minutes, got a lot of rebounds and really contributed on defense, but we didn't quit," Cassell said. "We've been in a lot of situations where we could have packed it in and folded, but our defense really inspired us to stay aggressive and move the ball well and take smart shots."

Singleton had four points and six rebounds in 20 minutes.

Desmond Mason scored 28 points for the Hornets, who were playing without Chris Paul, Peja Stojakovic and David West, but they blamed the loss on poor play by the guys that did suit up. They committed 15 turnovers and looked confused down the stretch.

"I think we had too many mistakes, too many turnovers, especially late. We made too many turnovers trying to force things that really weren't there," Mason said. "Then after the turnovers, we are giving up layups and too many easy shots. You can't win in this league if you give up that many easy shots."

"We started settling for jump shots and turning the ball over near the end of the game," Hornets coach Byron Scott. "We didn't do a good job of sustaining what we had in the first half, it's almost like we've forgotten how to win basketball games."