Clippers step forward

Oh by the way, the Clippers are on a winning streak.

It didn’t feel that way when Shaun Livingston was lost during their victory over Charlotte on Monday, and it didn’t look as if it was going to get any longer after they blew a 12-point lead Wednesday night over the Seattle Supersonics before rallying to win their third game in a row, 96-91, at Staples Center.

Corey Maggette broke a 91-91 tie with 27 seconds left, jumping between two SuperSonics on a drive, getting the call while Seattle Coach Bob Hill protested, and making two free throws to put the Clippers ahead to stay.

Maggette and Elton Brand had 18 points each to lead the Clippers.

Sam Cassell, moving back into the starting lineup at age 37, had 16 points. However, as if to illustrate their predicament, he started the game with an abdominal pull, then strained his groin on a driving layup late in the game and is questionable for tonight’s rematch in Seattle.

“We’re pretty much a MASH unit right now,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said.

Chris Kaman, just back from the flu, “was OK, he may have been fatigued but I had no choice,” Dunleavy said. “Between Tim Thomas’ back, [Cuttino Mobley’s] groin and Sam’s abdominal muscles....

“I was talking to them all game and they were saying, ‘Fine, fine, fine.’ Then you look out there and see them dragging their leg.”

Brand struggled with his shot, missing nine of his 14 shots but blocked three shots in the fourth quarter as the Clippers held Seattle to 16 points.

“We needed to take a step forward,” Brand said. “With Shaun’s injury, he’s with us. We’re not putting him behind us. We didn’t want to dedicate this win to him because anything less than a blowout wouldn’t have been right. He’s a great kid.”

The Clippers started the night trying to put Livingston’s season-ending knee injury behind them. Cassell, asked before the game where they went from here, answered, “Upwards.”

“It’s a bad situation for Shaun,” Cassell said. “It happened. It’s done. So as a team we can’t sit here and feel sorry for yourself. He was a big part of what we were trying to accomplish this year and he’s still going to be a big part of it in the future of this organization.

“I think Shaun is young enough where he’s going to get back to the Shaun Livingston I saw the [game] before it happened,” when he had 14 points and 14 assists against Golden State.

Everything changed Wednesday. With Livingston, the Clippers were a post-up team in the half court but ran when they could.

Now they’re more of a half-court team, period.

“We’ll need to control tempo better,” Dunleavy said before the game. “We’d still like to run but with [Livingston], obviously you’ve got the potential to do that a lot more.

“With Sam and his condition as well, it probably makes it a little bit tougher.”

On the other hand, who doesn’t have problems?

The SuperSonics started the game No. 14 in the West, with local politicians wrangling about a new arena, without which the team may be moved to Oklahoma City.

“We have such a young group [a possible move] really isn’t a big factor to them,” Coach Bob Hill said. “We’ve had meetings on it and the only person who ever asks any questions on it is Ray [Allen].”

Also, management has pronounced itself disappointed with the season, leaving Hill in a tenuous position.

The first half was a clinic in the SuperSonics’ problems. With Allen going five for 13 from the floor and Rashard Lewis going two for eight, they trailed throughout, by as many as 12 points late in the half.

However, Cassell fouled former Bruin Earl Watson who was in the process of making a three-pointer. Watson got up and made the free throw for a four-point play. The Clippers led at halftime, 51-43.

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