Clippers drop Suns, even series

Elton Brand just missed a triple-double for Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Elton Brand dominated the inside again. And Sam Cassell bounced back from a dreadful performance with a beauty.
Brand had 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Cassell added 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 114-107 Sunday night to even the Western Conference semifinals 2-2.
Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night in Phoenix.
Phoenix star Steve Nash was held to eight points and 11 assists. He shot 3-of-11, and didn't make a field goal after halftime.
The Suns scored 11 straight points to move within one before Brand made an 18-foot jumper with 56 seconds remaining and Cassell hit a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left to clinch the victory.
Brand scored 67 points in the first two games, but was held to 20 in Game 3, when the Suns won 94-91 for a 2-1 series lead.
The 36-year-old Cassell, who entered the postseason with more playoff experience than the rest of his teammates combined, shot 2-of-10 for six points in Game 3 and played only 35 seconds in the fourth quarter.
He began the final period of this game on the bench, but returned with 7:19 to play and made a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch.
Missing Kaman
The Clippers won without starting center Chris Kaman, sidelined because of a sore right shoulder. Kaman, injured in Game 3, suited up and was available, according to a team spokesman, but never left the bench.
Corey Maggette had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Vladimir Radmanovic scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, and Shaun Livingston added 11 points for the Clippers.
Raja Bell led the Suns with a career playoff-high 33 points -- two more than his regular-season career best. Boris Diaw added 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists; Shawn Marion had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Leonardo Barbosa added 15 points.
It was 100-93 when Radmanovic and Cassell made back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Clippers a 13-point lead with 5:54 left -- largest of the game for either team.
That's when the Suns began their rally, which Barbosa finished by making a 3-pointer with 2:36 left and a layup with 1:12 to go.
At that stage, the Clippers' big two made the two biggest plays of the game.
Even without the 7-foot Kaman, the Clippers dominated the backboards, outrebounding the Suns 55-37. Los Angeles outrebounded Phoenix 57-26 in winning Game 2, but just 47-46 in losing Game 3.
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