Clippers Hit Bottom in Loss to Kansas City

For the final 17 seconds of Friday night’s game here, Clipper Coach Jim Lynam sat dejectedly at the end of the bench next to guard Norm Nixon, who had been there the entire second half nursing a sprained right ankle.

It was as if Lynam wanted to get as far away as possible from what was happening on the court. Or maybe he just wanted to ask Nixon if what he saw really was happening. Even for the slumping Clippers, getting blown out by the Kansas City Kings seems highly unlikely.

But before a crowd of 5,272 at the Kemper Arena, the Clippers seemingly hit bottom with a 132-112 loss to the Kings. It was the Clippers’ seventh-straight loss and, without a doubt, their most dismal. Getting blown away by the the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks or even the Phoenix Suns is one thing, but the lowly Kings?

Kansas City (12-19) is deeply entrenched in the Midwest Division cellar, and this figured to be the Clippers’ best chance to break their losing streak. They figured wrong.

They conclude the three-day, three-game trip tonight (6:30 PST) against Denver, the Midwest Division leader.

For almost three quarters Friday, the Clippers seemed headed for a long-sought win.

But after building a 92-83 lead with 3:35 left in the third quarter, the Clippers were outscored, 12-4, from that point and started the fourth quarter leading by only one (96-95). Blame it on usual stuff--turnovers, missed shots and nonexistent defense.

That was just the beginning of the Clippers’ rapid descent. In the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter, the Kings outscored the Clippers, 29-6, to take a 124-102 lead. Add that to the Kings’ late third-quarter surge, and it was an incredible 41-10 run.

“Unbelievable,” said Nixon, who severly twisted his ankle with 3:45 left in the first half and didn’t return. “I wanted to just . . . “

Hide, perhaps?

“Yeah, things were falling apart around me,” he said. “We were up by nine, then all of a sudden, we’re down by 11. That’s a 20-point switch, and that’s unbelievable to me. Now, I know what a coach goes through sitting there. I think we were stuck on 102 (points) and stayed there for a long, long time.”

For the record, the Clippers were only stuck at 102 for 2:55 in the fourth. Earlier, however, they were stuck at 98 for 2:25 and stuck at 100 for 1:20. After playing well through 3 1/2 quarters, building the nine-point lead and seemingly on the verge of burying the Kings, everything fell apart.

There were many reasons for the Clippers’ breakdown. Nixon wasn’t able to play, so Lynam was forced to play journeyman Bryan Warrick and rookie Lancaster Gordon far more than usual. Not surprisingly, the Clippers committed 14 of their 24 turnovers in the second half.

But Nixon’s absence couldn’t be blamed for the Clippers’ dismal fourth-quarter shooting. They made only 6 of 20 shots (30 %) and were 7 of 25, including the final 2:21 of the third quarter. And Marques Johnson, who played spectacularly through three quarters with 27 points, was shut out in the fourth quarter.

“We had control of the game and were going to beat them easily and then they wiped us out in the third and fourth quarters,” Johnson said. “It seems like when we have a breakdown, everything breaks down. We were up, 92-83, and that’s when we should blow them away. Then, they outscore us something ridiculous.

“I think we’re just not playing hard enough. And that goes from man to man. If we all play hard the whole game, it would make a difference.”

Instead, the Clippers let the Kings record a rare blowout. It was easily the most points they have scored all season and their second-highest winning margin.

Forward Eddie Johnson padded his average by scoring 26 of his 32 points in the second half. Reserve guard Mike Woodson scored 25 points, while Mark Olberding and Reggie Theus added 17 and 16, respectively.

In addition to Marques Johnson’s 27 points, the Clippers received 19 from Junior Bridgeman and 17 each from Bill Walton and Derek Smith. Although the Clippers had a better shooting percentage than Kansas City (50.6 to 49.5), the Kings attempted 16 more shots.

It definitely won’t get easier for the Clippers tonight when they play their third game in three nights in Denver--most likely without Nixon, who said his ankle was “sore as hell” Friday night.

“And it’s in the high altitude against a running team,” Bridgeman despondently noted. “It’s going to be really difficult. But you have to rise above that, play harder, play as if it was you’re final game.”

The way some of the Clippers have been playing lately, that might turn out to be a reality.