Team Thanks Lakers for Recent Win Streak

The Clippers have no problem defining the motivation for winning six of their last eight, the last three in succession.

Go back two weeks, to Dec. 14, when they were humiliated by the Lakers, 95-68. The Clippers scored only 19 points in the first half, setting a league record for futility since the advent of the shot clock.

With a 9-18 record, the Clippers are not the worst team in the NBA--Chicago is, hands down--and Maurice Taylor says there’s no way the team should have performed that poorly that night.

“Especially my play that night. I played horribly,” Taylor said. “We played like we weren’t supposed to be on the floor with them.

“That game really put something in our heads because it was a total embarrassment. We came out lackluster and not ready to play. After that we vowed to come out every game and be ready, and not have the mental lapses we had in that Laker game.”

Tyrone Nesby added that the Clippers grew closer after that loss.

“Everybody’s been playing hard. Everybody’s cheering each other on,” Nesby said. “We’re not just running plays for one guy, we’re running them for everybody. And when you’ve got everybody involved on offense, you want to play hard on defense.

“You always have a stretch where you play well. Now we have to sustain it. We talk about it every day. At the start of a game, the first thing we say is, ‘Let’s not let it down now.’ ”

*

Eric Murdock, who sprained his left ankle in Sunday’s game, will not make the trip to Denver tonight and Houston on Thursday.

TONIGHT

at Denver, 6 PST

Channel 9

* Site--Pepsi Center.

* Radio--XTRA (1150).

* Records--Clippers 9-18, Nuggets 14-12.

* Record vs. Nuggets (1999 season)--0-3.

* Update--The Clippers would like to end a three-game losing streak to Denver. But the Nuggets, third in the Midwest Division, are hard to discourage. Denver is a league-best 10-7 when trailing at halftime. The Nuggets have also won four in a row and nine of their last 10 at home.