The Clippers' connections to Chicago and the Bulls are numerous, save for the directions the franchises appear headed.

There's Elton Brand, the former Bull, whose 12-foot jumper with 68 seconds remaining gave the Clippers the lead for good in a wild 106-102 victory Wednesday night at the Staples Center. Brand led the Clippers with 20 points. Brad Miller's 19 points and 16 rebounds led the Bulls, whose furious rally from a 16-point deficit fell short.

"It's the same thing we went through last year, besides the 50-point shellacking in Minnesota," Brand said. "[Coach Tim Floyd] doesn't want you to feel badly for him, but I do. Everyone's going at him and blaming him. Losing is tough."

There's Quentin Richardson, the former Young High School and DePaul standout, coming off the bench to average 14.4 points and shoot 51.4 percent.

He's been waiting.

"We need to blow them out if we can," Richardson said.

There's Corey Maggette, the former Fenwick star, starting because Lamar Odom is serving a five-game suspension for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA anti-drug program. He's averaging 9.6 points in just more than 20 minutes a game.

"They've got a lot of young talent," forward Eddie Robinson said.

The Bulls' young talent rests, theoretically, in the future. And even Brand has an opinion on how to use teenagers Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry.

"Let them play," Brand said. "That's what helped me grow as a player, being in the fire, making mistakes. You have to get them ready somehow."

Nevertheless, Chandler and Curry did not play in the first half Wednesday after not playing the previous two games. Chandler entered with 3:32 left in the third quarter.

Chandler attended nearby Dominguez High and had several family members and friends at the game.