The Clippers weren't prepared out of the gate, scoring a measly 11 points in the first quarter. This time, though, the franchise that has so long been associated with insurmountable odds fought back.

Against perhaps the elite team of the league, the Clippers won the second and third quarters, then dropped the fourth by a point. It was a 10-point loss, but the sellout crowd of 18,964 left impressed, once again, with this city's other NBA team.

The applause after the game was appreciation for yet another solid effort, which San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich joined.

''Alvin Gentry deserves a lot of credit for doing what hasn't happened here in a long time,'' Popovich said. ''Every damn game, they play hard, like it's a playoff game. And that's hard to do. They're aggressive and physical on defense. They're playing their butts off, and they're playing for next year.''

A night before losing to San Antonio, the Clippers defeated one of the Eastern Conference's best teams, the Milwaukee Bucks, in overtime after trailing by seven points with 2 minutes, 19 seconds remaining in regulation and by five with 2:45 left in the extra session.

Those comebacks were contrived without Odom, who was ejected for arguing with an official about a call. A tailbone injury kept Odom from playing against the Spurs.

''The thing I'm most proud of is, we're playing through the season,'' Gentry said. ''Obviously, we've been out of the playoffs for a long time. But we still play with enthusiasm and vigor, like we're trying to get a homecourt advantage, or the eighth spot, in the playoffs.

''That's what I wanted to have happen. I wanted people to leave Staples Center and say, 'Man, it's great watching you guys play, because you're playing hard and you're playing together.' That's the base we have to build upon for the future.''

Gentry beamed again when told of Popovich's comments.

''I tell you, that's the thing I've been most proud of,'' Gentry said. ''If we continue to do that next season, we'll be able to turn the corner. We'll get there.''

Few people thought the Clippers would get there this season, with a new coach and a whole new batch of young talent, courtesy of the last two drafts and some crafty dealing by general manager Elgin Baylor.

The Clippers are the only team in the league without a player signed through 2003-04, and Gentry has said he believes owner Donald Sterling will make a lucrative offer to keep Odom, whose contract expires after next season.

Darius Miles, Corey Maggette, Quentin Richardson, Keyon Dooling and Odom figure to be the core of the franchise's future.

''I think there's a lot of passion by the fans,'' Gentry said. ''I think they sense we have a chance to turn the corner.''

This season, a Las Vegas oddsmaker set the team's over-under line on victories at 19. The Clippers smashed that figure in their typical high-wire fashion, beating Portland in two overtimes on Feb. 24 before a raucous Staples crowd of 20,001.

In preseason advertisements, Clippers management promised only excitement and entertainment this season, and Gentry and his team have delivered.

Losing in Sacramento on Tuesday, in the franchise's record 13th overtime game of the season, dropped the Clippers' record to 28-50. That .359 winning percentage is still a .176 difference from 1999-2000, the best jump in the league.

Home cooking and defense -- the best things the Clips do are at that end of the floor -- have laid the foundation for more success. After the victory over the Bucks, the Clippers had gone 11-2 at Staples since Feb. 1, the best home mark in the league in that span.

With the Spurs crowd, the Clips set a single-season franchise attendance record of more than 561,000.

''Those are the kinds of people you want to have as your fan base. It's been tremendous,'' Gentry said. ''I think they've been as much a part of us having the best home record in the league (in that aforementioned stretch) as anybody. The enthusiasm has been there so much. They've lifted our guys when we needed help.

''The fans have been there for us.''

''It's been really good to watch the transformation, of not really having any loyal fans and people just coming out to a basketball game ... it's different this season, and it's the way we're playing. They see the effort,'' Odom said.

''Even when we lose, people still respect us because we're playing with so much effort. We've lost games, but the fans have stood up and cheered us. They enjoy us. We're a young team, and we get up and down the court. It's entertaining. We probably lead the league in alley-oop dunks this year.''

The Clippers are starting to carve their own niche in the building.

At Lakers games, Jack and Dyan are rare celebrities who don't attend just to be seen. Many others with primo seats are most concerned with cellphone reception in the building, while others display as much genuine passion as Al Gore.

They will roar, however, when the Lakers are mounting a charge from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter of a playoff game, like they did in that Game 7 against Portland last year. But the silence that preceded the run was akin to a funeral.

With an ostentatious three rows of executive suites, the haves and have-nots are separated in Los Angeles like no other indoor arena in the world. When the Lakers' nose-bleeders do the ''wave,'' the premier-seaters seem to suggest, ''Who let them in?''

The atmosphere at Clippers games is much different, as if there are no class lines and one common, underdog cause.

''It's palpable,'' said one Staples official who has seen plenty of both teams.

''It's because the Lakers are boring,'' said another observer. ''They just dump it into Shaq, Goliath, and he gets his 30 (points) and 20 (rebounds). That's not exciting, unless he's going for 50 (points), or 47 or 48.''

Second-year Clippers forward Corey Maggette, who had 15 points and 15 boards against the Spurs, hears regular talk about the difference between Lakers' and Clippers' games.

''I actually hear we're more exciting than the Lakers,'' Maggette said. ''That's good to hear, but our job is just to go out, play ball and have fun. We're young and we have fun. On the other side, with the Lakers, there's a lot of commotion and problems.''

There are also championship, seven of which the Lakers have brought to Los Angeles. The Clippers have never made it to the second round of the playoffs since they moved from Buffalo in 1978.

Once again, the Clippers will watch the playoffs from their living rooms.

''I think it will be good next season, but we need to see what happens,'' Maggette said. ''It will be great if this team stays together. There's a lot of potential and, hopefully, if they make the decision to keep the guys, we'll be a good team for years.''

-- Rob Miech

Personnel File

GREAT JOB: Alvin Gentry, NBA Coach of the Year?

The Clippers probably have a better chance at making the playoffs. Nevertheless, the Clips front office has begun a campaign for their likeable coach. It is based on their undeniable improvement. With 12 more victories than last season, Gentry's young team has made one of the league's biggest improvement this year.

The biggest turnaround has come at the box office, where the Clips are enjoying one of their best seasons in memory. People actually want to see this long-suffering franchise.

The Coach of the Year campaign is not expected to produce a winner this season. But, in effect, it has made Gentry an early nominee for next year's prize.

If the Clips can get into the 2002 playoffs, the Clips might not need a campaign to get Gentry the media votes necessary for Coach of the Year.

FINE TIME: Lamar Odom was fined $7,500 for arguing a call and lingering on the floor following an ejection against Milwaukee.

REF WATCH: Amid all the scrapes with officials, the Clips were asked about a suggestion that the NBA Players Association grade the officials performances. Don't bet on it, guard Eric Piatkowski said.

''I don't know what good it would do, because I don't believe officials give a hoot about what we think,'' he said. ''Grading would only work if we put it to some kind of positive use. It would have to be an anonymous deal because I can't imagine an official not holding grudges.''

ALL SET: The Clips roster figures to look the same next season. Cherokee Parks is the only player who will be a free agent.

Noteworthy

ALL-WORLD: The Clips are expected to play Orlando in a preseason game at Mexico City next fall. It's just part of the international game, said Gentry, who pointed to the Internet broadcast of the Dallas Mavericks-Kings game.

''The game is definitely going global,'' said Gentry, who worked with the league's first foreign assistant coach in Igor Kokoskov this season. ''From our first game on the Internet to international cable, everyone is going to be familiar with the NBA.''

TUTORIAL FROM WEBBER: Young Darius Miles went back to school against Kings froward Chris Webber, who played against the Clips for only the second time Tuesday night. As Webber got 31 points and 11 rebounds, Gentry relied heavily on Cherokee Parks.

One day, Gentry is confident Miles will hold his own.

''There are going to be certain times when Miles may not be able to play a lot of minutes because he's facing a bigger power forward,'' Gentry said. ''But Darius is the future of our team. He's going to play.''

B-DAY TIME: Happy Birthday: Rookie Quentin Richardson turns 21 Friday.

STAT CORNER: Under Gentry, the Clips won eight game during a one month stretch, February 7 through March 7, for the first time since the 1996-97 season.

QUOTEWORTHY: Jeff McInnis, on Chris Webber's 31 points and Peja Stojakovic's 27 in the Kings' 116-109 overtime victory over the Clips: ''Those guys can shoot. It doesn't matter which one it is. The rim is like a magnet.''