11 assists! Not too shabby! Rookie makes point First start for Livingston is win for Clippers By Rich Hammond Staff Writer Thursday, March 24, 2005 - After a significant delay, the Shaun Livingston era finally began in full effect Wednesday night. Livingston, the Clippers' first-round draft pick last June, made the first start of his injury-plagued rookie season, and by all indications he could be a fixture in the lineup for years to come. Livingston's strong play helped the Clippers to a 116-108 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in front of 17,708 at Staples Center. Knee and shoulder injuries cost Livingston 52 games this season, but he returned last week and fared well enough in games against Sacramento and Portland to earn a look in the starting lineup. The experiment couldn't have started much better. Livingston assisted on the Clippers' first four baskets and scored the fifth as they built an 11-4 lead and led by as many as 26 points in the first half. Livingston finished with a career-high 11 assists and scored two points in 25 minutes. "I did all right running the team," Livingston said. "I'd like to be a little more aggressive myself, but other than that I can't complain." Milwaukee made it exciting late, as the Bucks closed to within six points in the final two minutes, but Corey Maggette hit a 3-pointer with 1:52 left to give the Clippers a 109-100 cushion. Maggette scored 34 points, and made 10 of 15 shots, and Elton Brand added 24 points and 10 rebounds. The Clippers combined for a season-high 34 assists. Michael Redd scored 31 points to lead the Bucks and former UCLA standout Dan Gadzuric added 15 points and 10 rebounds. "We let them back in, but we stayed confident the whole way through," Brand said. Coach Mike Dunleavy said he plans to tinker with the lineup for the rest of the season, but the Clippers would like to give Livingston time to become accustomed to backcourt mate Maggette and the other starters, since Livingston likely will be the starting point guard next season. "Shaun, he's got a good feel, and this is about him growing," Dunleavy said. "We're limited on minutes (at point guard) so it's hard to get him in the flow but he did a nice job." Livingston received a mild scare late in the first half, when he "tweaked" his shoulder, but returned to start the third quarter. His addition wasn't the only change to the starting lineup, or the most surprising. Bobby Simmons, who had been the only player to start all 67 games for the Clippers, sat out in favor of Quinton Ross. Simmons had a nagging lower-leg injury, but Dunleavy pronounced him healthy before the game. Simmons didn't enter the game until one minute into the second quarter, but made four of his first five shots and finished with 16 points in 21 minutes. "It was a coaching decision," Simmons said. "It doesn't matter; it's just one game. We won tonight and that's all that matters." source
11 assists in the game, very nice, Shaun has been very good in running the offesne, and in his defensive play. He had 5 turnovers, but one thing is that a fair amount of the turnovers he gets are because he's thinking ahead of teammates, and they don't even know the all is coming.
