Clippers Blow Their Chance to Shift Into Fourth : Los Angeles Remains in Fifth Place After Losing to the SuperSonics, 118-105

When he saw that a group of reporters was heading his way, no doubt wanting to ask questions about the Clippers’ 118-105 loss to the Seattle SuperSonics Wednesday night, Norm Nixon tried to hide by casually putting a towel over his head.

Embarrassed, Norm?

“Absolutely,” said Nixon, slowly removing the towel without even a trace of humor in his delivery.

There didn’t seem to be enough towels in the entire Sports Arena to hide the Clippers’ embarrassment following a dismal loss in a game they desperately wanted to win. A victory over the SuperSonics would have lifted the Clippers past Seattle and into fourth place in the Pacific Division.

That might not be a motivational tool for most teams, but the Clippers figured that a move into fourth place would be the first step toward respectability and one of the eight Western Conference playoff spots.

Instead, they were handed one of their worst losses of the season against a team that they had previously beaten twice at home. The margin of defeat was only 13 points, but the Clippers trailed by as many as 26 late in the fourth quarter. Twenty-two fourth-quarter points by Nixon--including four three-pointers--made it moderately respectable.

As it was, the Clippers were serenaded with boos by the normally restrained fans, many of whom had long since left ther Sports Arena before Nixon staged his long-range shooting clinic and finished with a game-high 37 points.

Perhaps the crowd was expecting to see the same Clipper team that played so well Monday night in a win over San Antonio. Clipper Coach Jim Lynam was.

“I don’t blame the fans for booing,” Lynam said. “If I was in the stands, I would have booed, also. The game was terrible. . . . We played well last game, and then there’s tonight. We scored 125 points two nights ago (against San Antonio) and now barely reach 100. You can go over all the things we have to do better, but I still can’t explain why we played this way tonight.”

Derek Smith, who scored 22 points but made only 9 of 22 shots, didn’t give any explanations, either. But he was no less disgusted than Nixon or Lynam. Tossing aside the stat sheet, Smith let out a long sigh and said: “That’s terrible. That was the worst. That game out there was bad. It hurts doubly bad because we were only a half-game out of fourth place.” Smith said he was embarrassed by the crowd’s reaction, but he, too, felt the boos were deserved.

“The fans were expecting what I was expecting--a good game,” Smith said. “Everyone who came to the San Antonio game expected the same thing (Wednesday). They were very disappointed. I was very disappointed.”

An incredibly bad third-quarter performance hurt the Clippers this time. Trailing, 47-41, at halftime, the Clippers were outscored by 19 points in the third quarter and began the final 12 minutes down, 88-64. The Clippers were outrebounded, 17-10, committed eight turnovers and shot 35% compared to 68% for Seattle in the third quarter.

By the time Nixon and Junior Bridgeman (7 of 13, 21 points) tried to take control in the fourth quarter, the closest the Clippers could come against Seattle’s reserves was nine points.

Actually, it wasn’t the Seattle regulars who hurt the Clippers most. Tim McCormick, starting at power forward in place of suspended Tom Chambers, scored a season-high 27 points in 41 minutes. McCormick made 11 of 17 shots--most from within five feet--and had 11 rebounds, one shy of his season-high.

Although starting guard Al Wood had 18 points, center Jack Sikma 13 and Gerald Henderson 16, little-known reserves such as Frank Brickowski (12 points), John Schweitz (11) and Jon Sundvold (9) also had productive nights.

“McCormick causes us real problems, and those other guys are pretty good, too,” Smith said. “But we can’t build these guys up into something they aren’t. We just played a very bad game.”

The final statistics showed just how badly the Clippers played. They shot 42.3% from the field, committed 19 turnovers and had no noteworthy performances other than Nixon’s.

Marques Johnson was the only Clipper front-line player to score in double figures, registering 11 points and 8 rebounds. Eight of those points and all of the rebounds came in the first quarter, when the Clippers trailed by only one point (22-21).

The Clippers did not receive a point from Harvey Catchings, Michael Cage or Jay Murphy, the three power forwards that Lynam used. Defensively, none could stop McCormick from dominating the middle.

‘Our front-court players must get into double figures every game,” Lynam said. “We can’t have Norm scoring 30 points just to get over 100. . . . We must get the ball inside more.”

Once he took the towel off his head, Nixon was one of the few Clippers who waxed positive. In fact, Nixon said he was looking forward to the rematch with the SuperSonics Sunday afternoon at Seattle.

“We’ve played better and harder lately,” he said. “We’ve had three games in four nights and a hard practice the other day, so I think fatigue was a factor. We’ve just got to keep moving forward. A few days rest will do us well. We must try to get the split by beating them Sunday. One night won’t kill us. We must keep going and not have another letdown.”

Clipper Notes

Seattle forward Tom Chambers sat out Wednesday’s game after being suspended for pushing referee John Vanak in last Saturday’s loss to Kansas City. Chambers was arguing a change-of-possession call. He was fined $3,000, but the suspension cost him $7,000. The extra $4,000 is the salary Chambers would have earned during his suspension. . . . After Sunday’s game at Seattle, the Clippers play at Portland Tuesday and at the Sports Arena Wednesday against the Houston Rockets.