Kurt Rambis praised his bunch for being scrappy, but that wasn’t enough to beat a Clippers team that was winless in its first four games (the only NBA team to reach 0-4 so quickly) tonight at Staples Center.

Al Jefferson followed Sunday’s 21-point, 33-minute game at Phoenix by playing 34:33 tonight, a good sign in his first regular-season back-to-back games since he injured his knee last February. When he played back-to-back games in preseason, that’s when that Achilles problem flared.

He had 24 points tonight and this time made more shots than he missed (9 for 16) for the first time this season.

Corey Brewer got his contract extension for 2010-11 Monday, then went out and delivered a performance that was hyperactive on both ends of the floor. That brought him six assists and five steals as well as a 6-for-21 shooting night. With a shot like that, I don’t think you want him leading you in shots, taking five more than Big Al, do you?

Kurt Rambis played Brewer 37:18, most on the team, while for the second straight game he opted to go with Ramon Sessions over Jonny Flynn when he sought to get that triangle offense organized and running efficiently.

For the second straight night, Sessions played more than Flynn (26 minutes to 22, compared to Sunday’s 31 to 18), but it’s clear Rambis is using a firm hand with Flynn to try to get him to learn to run a team rather than rely on instincts and individual skills.

Rambis played Flynn and Sessions together for a bit in the fourth quarter in Phoenix, then yanked Flynn after he took a poor shot and sat him the rest of the night. Tonight, he sent Sessions into the game abruptly 90 seconds into the second half after Flynn committed a turnover.

“The effort’s there,” Rambis said of Flynn. “He loves the game. He wants to be terrific. I’m making it very difficult on him. I’m not letting him run the pick-and-roll all the time. That’s what he wants to do. That’s what he’s comfortable with. That’s what he did at Syracuse. I’m challenging him to step out of that zone.”

About taking Flynn out of the game in favor of Sessions’ steadiness, he said, “You get turnovers, you get bad decisions. That game at that point start to slip away from us. We have those poor decisions. I’ll him make a mistake or two. If he can’t correct himself, I have no choice.”

So Rambis has called upon Sessions, who at age 23 is a veritable veteran because of his nearly two seasons in the league.

“He has been in the league,” Rambis said. “He understands what his role is, what the job is. When things go awry out there on the floor, he knows if he does a good job of getting us organized and playing together, he’ll get time. He’s figured that out.”

Sessions has played 26 and 31 minutes in the last two games after playing 18 and 21 in the first two.

“This offense, it’s not easy,” Sessions said. “It’s going to take a while. It feels like game by game, I’m starting to get more comfortable out there. I’m just trying to run the team. That’s what Coach wants. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

The Wolves are staying overnight here in L.A. tonight and flying back home in the morning. They’re not expected to practice Tuesday and will play K.G. and the Celtics Wednesday night at Target Center.

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