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Two of the NBA's worst meet when Clippers host Wizards

Mar 18, 2009 - 7:25 AM By Kate Hedlin Stats Writer

Washington (16-52) at LA Clippers (16-51) 10:30 p.m. EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It's been a long season for the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Clippers, but one of these teams will come away with a rare victory when they meet Wednesday night.

The Wizards look for their fourth straight win over the Clippers as they square off at Staples Center.

The Clippers have the second-worst record in the Western Conference behind Sacramento (14-53) and third-worst in the NBA. Just below them are the Wizards, who extended its winning streak over Los Angeles with a 106-94 triumph on January 31 in Washington.

Washington has beaten New Jersey, Sacramento and Minnesota twice in 2008-09, but the Wizards also come into this game having dropped 11 of their last 13 on the road, including a 103-88 loss to Utah on Tuesday.

The Wizards shot 35.6 percent and scored only 15 first-quarter points. Nick Young and Juan Dixon each scored a team-high 14 points, while Antawn Jamison had 13 and 10 rebounds.

"I thought in the first half our defense was actually pretty solid. In the second half they wore us down and that ends up being the story of the game," Washington coach Ed Tapscott said.

Jamison finished just 4-of-15 from the floor. He came in having averaged 29.3 points in his previous four games, but was held scoreless in the fourth and ended up with his lowest point total since February 4 when he scored 10 against the Nets.

He's averaged 30.0 points and 10.7 rebounds in the last three games versus the Clippers.

Tuesday's contest opened a four-game road trip for Washington, which is 5-28 away from home this season. Three of those victories have come against teams from the West.

The Clippers, meanwhile, are coming off their eighth loss in nine games, a 127-120 setback on Tuesday at Golden State.

Former Warrior Baron Davis scored 29 points and Al Thornton added 25 and nine rebounds, but Los Angeles trailed by 11 going into the fourth quarter. The Clippers pulled within four three times, but failed to close the gap.

"I thought their bench killed us," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "They shot the ball really well; that's what they do. We didn't make them play defense on enough possessions."

Davis was 9-of-17 from the field, hitting four 3-pointers. He was one point shy of matching his season high, set November 22 against the Nets.

The Clippers have the worst home record in the NBA at 9-26. They're averaging 93.9 points at Staples Center.