Barry Injured in Clipper Loss

The Clippers lost another game Friday night. Nothing new there. They have lost 13 of 15 already this season.

So the story of the 104-92 loss to the New Jersey Nets in front of 11,030 at the Pond of Anaheim centered on an injury incurred by guard Brent Barry.

“It was kind of a rough night,” said Barry, who was knocked down in the second quarter by Net guard Sam Cassell and suffered a bruised left calf courtesy of Kerry Kittles’ knee with 2:38 left in the fourth quarter.

“I knew it was a good hit,” Barry said. “I had the got hit in the calf in college and it was the same type of feeling.

“It was just a shocking blow to my leg, but it was no big deal. Hopefully, I’ll be back soon enough, if not tomorrow night.”

The Clippers, who have been without forward Loy Vaught for the last four games because of a back injury, can ill afford to lose Barry, who is averaging a team-high 16.1 points.

He scored 16 Friday night before being sidelined and also had seven rebounds and five assists.

Barry grabbed his left leg and a covered his face as he was being examined by Clipper physician Tony Daly.

Meanwhile, the Clipper forwards were abysmal. Lamond Murray missed nine of 13 shots and scored only 10 points. Rodney Rogers missed seven of 10 shots and had only nine points.

Former Clipper forward Michael Cage, who won the NBA rebounding title in 1988, had seven rebounds after Net center Jayson Williams fouled out.

“How about Michael Cage at 47 years old,” Net Coach John Calipari said. “The guy comes in big and rebounds.”

Said Cage, 35, “The old-timer’s feeling old. It’s been a long time since I played in a game and started feeling sore before the game was over. I looked over and there weren’t many people we could put in.”

Rookie forward Maurice Taylor, who averaged 13.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 23 minutes had 15 points.

Guard Darrick Martin, who lost his starting job to Pooh Richardson, made all four shots he took in the first half, scoring 10 points in the half.

Cassell had 15 points in the first half as the Nets took a 56-50 lead into the locker room and ended up with 25 points, nine assists and four rebounds.

Fitch hopes Barry isn’t out too long.

“We can’t afford to lose anybody for too long,” he said. “We’ll know more at the shootaround [today].”

The Clippers, who trailed by four points at the start of the final quarter, shot only 31.8% in the last quarter and were outscored, 29-21.

“Lamond Murray has had better nights,” Fitch said. “He had his hands full with Kendall Gill and that kept him busy.

“It’s been a while since Rodney [Rogers] had a game like that. He’s playing the [power forward], and he’s got Karl Malone tomorrow.”