So much for keeping it under 140 points.
The bar certainly was not set high at all -- underground, perhaps? -- about 24 hours after abject humiliation in Phoenix when the Clippers lost by 40 points, giving up 140 to the Suns without the services of Zach Randolph for most of the game and Marcus Camby, who did not make the trip.
One night later, the outcome remained the same and the search for more descriptive terms slightly more difficult. The Clippers suffered a garden-variety loss as the Suns won, 142-119, on Wednesday night at Staples Center, led by Amare Stoudemire's 42 points and 11 rebounds.
"They'd better keep him," said the Clippers' Al Thornton, of the All-Star forward who had been the topic of intense trade rumors.
Losing by 23 almost seems run-of-the-mill for the Clippers (13-42). They got 33 points from Thornton and 23 more from rookie Eric Gordon, but again were without Camby (ear infection) and Randolph (suspension) and an injured Brian Skinner.
Thornton suffered a strained right arch in the second half, saying he landed wrong after a dunk, but he was able to come back.
The Suns didn't match the 140-point mark until reserve Goran Dragic hit a three-pointer with 55 seconds remaining
This wasn't quite like Tuesday's spectacular flop. One Clippers player assessed the current state of the team, using an unprintable word in reference to the blowout at Phoenix.
There were lasting reverberations from the game, and not just the ones suffered by the Suns' Louis Amundson's face when the Clippers' Randolph smacked him with an open hand, leading to Randolph's ejection in the first quarter.
Randolph earned a two-game suspension without pay from the league, which handed down the decision earlier Wednesday. He was not at Staples Center, nor would he allowed to have been on hand because of the suspension. Instead, Randolph was back home in Indiana, attending to a family emergency.
Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy, while not condoning Randolph's action, gave some insight into his player's frame of mind. Apparently Randolph learned his father was critically ill shortly before the game in Phoenix.
"Obviously you don't want anybody doing that," Dunleavy said. "But he found out before the game, literally in the locker room before the game, about his dad.
"He was trying to figure out if he could play in last night's game, or tonight's game."
