Clippers Fall Victim to Francis, Overtime

HOUSTON —  Chaos reigned all around Steve Francis on Thursday at the Compaq Center. Passes skipped away from intended targets. Shots clanged off the rims. Defenses foiled offenses. And visa versa. Coaches stomped their feet in frustration.

Francis, the Houston Rockets’ clever guard, had moments that will surely make him cringe when (if?) he’s forced to watch a videotape of a 98-92 overtime victory against the Clippers.

But down the stretch in overtime, when it counted, Francis was as close to flawless as anyone could be on a night when so little went as planned. Or expected.

Francis’ 20-foot jump shot from the right of the key gave Houston a 92-89 lead over the Clippers, who had been clinging to the Rockets like lint. His runner in the key moments later increased the lead to 94-89.

And two free throws with 23.4 seconds left, after Jeff McInnis’ made a three-pointer at the other end, basically finished off the Clippers. Rocket center Kevin Willis’ dunk in the closing seconds completed the scoring.

“We played hard,” Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said. “They had a great player make great plays. Stevie made some great shots down the stretch.”

Francis had 32 points, making 10 of 20 shots and 12 of 12 free throws. He also took 10 rebounds and had seven assists.

Both teams shot horribly.

The Clippers made 31 of 87 shots (35.6%).

The Rockets made 37 of 100.

But if you take away Francis’ shooting, they were 27 of 80 (33.8%).

The Clippers went through a nearly seven-minute stretch without a basket.

The Rockets were outscored, 7-2, in the final 1:35 of regulation, heading to overtime for the second time in as many games.

The Clippers went into another funk in overtime, going without a basket until McInnis’ three-pointer with 24.1 seconds left cut their deficit to 94-92. They missed nine of 10 shots in overtime.

“We won the game on defense,” Francis said. “The Clippers did a great job of neutralizing what we were trying to do on offense and they came down and scored. We didn’t turn the ball over much, but our defense really helped us out a lot.”

However, Houston didn’t have a clue how to stop Elton Brand, the Clippers’ power forward. Brand overwhelmed Kenny Thomas, and a cast of reserves, leading the Clippers with 26 points.

Brand had 27 points in the Clippers’ season-opening loss Tuesday against the San Antonio Spurs, and kept his team in it.

With the Rockets on the verge of a knockout blow, Brand rallied the Clippers late in the fourth quarter. Brand’s layup cut the deficit to 84-81 with 1:35 left. He made a free throw with 1:13 remaining, then two more with 40.6 seconds to play to tie it at 84.

After Francis sank two free throws with 22.7 left, Brand swept past Willis and kissed a hook shot off the backboard to tie the score at 86. Francis missed a 20-footer at the buzzer.

“It was definitely fatigue,” Brand said of the overtime shooting. “We missed some shots we normally hit. We had a lot of confidence out there. The shots didn’t fall.”

Last season, the Clippers lost 10 of 13 overtime games, often collapsing against more experienced teams.

Gentry, who refuses to use the team’s youth as an excuse this season, said he was pleased with the Clippers’ poise in overtime Thursday. What troubled him was their cold spell at the end.

“We played hard and with a lot of effort tonight,” Gentry said. “I thought Elton Brand was tremendous. But we couldn’t seem to come up with the big basket in overtime. We’ve got to find a way to make a few more key baskets.”

The Clippers have two days to get it right. They face the Golden State Warriors in their home opener Saturday at Staples Center.

“We have a lot of confidence,” McInnis said after scoring 11 points on five-of-16 shooting. “We wanted to win and get a split on the road. A 1-1 record would have felt pretty good. We’ve just got to go home and give it to Golden State.”