Defeat leaves Sonics with 0-3 start
LOS ANGELES - It’s a long season.
Kevin Durant repeats those words over and over again, reminding anyone who asks how he’s holding up after the Sonics dropped their third straight game, 115-101 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday at Staples Center.
“It’s an 82-game season, and you’re going to lose,” said Durant, who had never lost more than two straight games in high school and at Texas. “I really don’t like losing, but we’ve got 79 more games to go. We’ve just got to play hard and hopefully come up with some wins.
“I know this comes with the territory. Even the great teams lose three in a row, four in a row. I had to get used to losing. Even if it’s 20 games or 30 games. You’ve just got to get used to that.”
If coach P.J. Carlesimo or Earl Watson had heard the 19-year-old rookie, they might have pulled him aside for some counseling. Minutes before Durant explained how he’s adjusting to losing, the Sonics coach and point guard spoke at length about the negative effects of the losing streak.
Neither had definitive answers to explain Seattle’s 0-3 start, the Sonics’ worst opening to a season since 1985, other than to attribute the string of defeats to shoddy defense, a rash of turnovers and fourth-quarter collapses.
“We need to be more aggressive and we need to develop a mentality in understanding what it takes to win,” Carlesimo said. “The first thing it takes is to be aggressive and to believe, and right now we have to do a better job of convincing our guys that we’re in position to win and that we can win. …
“It’s not feeling sorry for ourselves or thinking there’s a bad call or a bad break. It’s us. It’s something we can control, and we have to do a better job.”
Inside the locker room at Staples Center, Watson sat seething after another ineffective game.
“Learning to lose is not an option,” said Watson, who had just four points and four assists. “Learning to lose in life should never be an option. I don’t care what you do. I don’t care what position you’re in. I don’t care if you’re playing at the YMCA. I don’t care if you’re in school or any aspect in life. Learning to lose should never be an option and for us the only option is to win.”
In each game, Durant’s brilliance is juxtaposed by catastrophic defensive breakdowns and a developing ugly trend in which the Sonics play well for three quarters before faltering in the final 12 minutes.
Sunday was no different.
Durant put on a show for the Los Angeles crowd of 17,376. He sank 10 of 19 shots for a team-high 24 points and finished with eight rebounds and five assists. Nearly every part of his offensive game was on display. He drained three three-pointers, slashed to the basket and dished to open teammates for easy baskets.
“Durant didn’t look like he was fazed at all,” Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. “He gets a lot of minutes. He is their No. 1 option. When he plays, you can see why. What I like about his game is his ability to make plays. He shows a lot of savvy out there.”
The Sonics scored enough points to win as Damien Wilkins added 22, Chris Wilcox 17, Jeff Green 14 and Wally Szczerbiak 13, but they couldn’t slow down the Clippers, who had six players score in double figures.
Corey Maggette and Tim Thomas led Los Angeles’ inside-out attack. Maggette scored 13 of his game-high 27 points at the free-throw line, and Thomas dropped four three-pointers on his way to 20 points.
Making matters worse, Chris Kaman (10 points, 15 rebounds) had a double-double, and Cuttino Mobley (17 points) and Ruben Patterson (13) combined for 30 of the Clippers’ 43 bench points.
Maggette, Mobley and Patterson each exploited the Sonics’ gaping defense with hard dribble drives that resulted in a basket or a foul. Los Angeles (2-0) attempted 34 free throws and Seattle had 22.
It’s been 30 years since the Sonics began 0-4. Their worst start was 0-6 in 1969-70.
Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com