Barry’s Defense Not Half Bad

Clipper guard Brent Barry, who excites fans with his flashy dunks, played superb defense against Michael Jordan in the first half of the Clippers’ 111-102 double-overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday.

Jordan missed 11 of 14 shots and scored nine points in the first half as the Clippers took a 42-41 lead.

“I think Rodney [Rogers] understated it best at halftime,” Barry said. “He came in at halftime and said ‘Good job guys, Michael only has nine points, he’s going to look to score in the second half, I think 40 is enough.’ He probably had the understatement of the year.”

Jordan scored 40 points in the second half and the two overtime periods, including all nine Chicago points in the second overtime.

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Although the Clippers have lost 12 of 13 games, Jordan thinks they’re not that bad.

“Every night they’re playing hard,” Jordan said. “I think they’ve played a lot better than people expected them to.”

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Forward Loy Vaught, who sat out the last two games because of back spasms, will be examined today by Ted Goldstein, a back specialist.

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Forward Lamond Murray is fourth in the league in field-goal percentage (.583) and fifth in three-point percentage (.476).