Crippled Clippers Make Rockets Work for Their 117-109 Victory

Overmatched at almost every position and crippled by injuries, the Clippers didn’t figure to have a realistic chance of beating the Houston Rockets Wednesday night at the Sports Arena. Even with Bill Walton again out with a sore right ankle, and Norm Nixon playing in pain with a hip pointer, the Clippers made the Rockets earn a 117-109 win before a crowd of 11,516. “That was the important, positive thing about it,” Clipper forward Marques Johnson said. “I think we’re making the effort to win, and that’s a lot better than laying down and letting them win. We’re still playing hard.”

Exerting maximum effort, something the Clippers haven’t always done this season, still wasn’t enough to end the the club’s slide. Wednesday’s loss was the fourth straight for the Clippers, whose record dropped to 22-37.

As has been the case in many recent outings, the Clippers let a close game slip away early in the fourth quarter en route to a somewhat lopsided loss.

A sustained surge that began late in the third quarter and carried over into the first three minutes of the fourth saw the Rockets open a 13-point lead that they never relinquished. The closest the Clippers came was five points with 4:30 left following consecutive fast-break dunks by Derek Smith and Rory White.

Two minutes later, the fans started toward the exits after the Rockets once again took command and eventually ended a two-game losing streak.

With Walton in street clothes, leaving several smaller Clipper power forwards to guard the 7-4 Sampson, Los Angeles knew it was in for a long evening.

The Clippers, after all, had won two of the previous three meetings with Houston, including a 10-point win at the Sports Arena last month. “Yeah,” Nixon said, “but in those games we had both Bill and James (Donaldson) to go against their big guys. Tonight, we didn’t have that.”

And it showed. With 6-9 Michael Cage, 6-10 Harvey Catchings and 6-7 Rory White to defend Sampson, it was really no contest.

Sampson scored 30 points, making 12 of 25 shots, 13 of his points coming in the fourth quarter. Seven-foot center Akeem Olajuwon, after sitting out most of the first half in foul trouble, scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half. Rodney McCray, the Rockets’ other front-line starter, added 16.

More impressive was the Rockets’ rebounding domination. Houston held a 47-34 edge in rebounding, as the Rockets’ starting front line combined for 33 rebounds to only 16 for the Clippers’ front line. Donaldson, however, led all rebounders with 12.

“It just got down to a matter of matchups,” Clipper forward Junior Bridgeman said. “Ralph, at 7-4, was too much. Before, when he played against us, Ralph stayed outside and shot jumpers, but tonight they got smart and moved him inside.”

If Sampson didn’t cause enough problems for the Clippers, Houston (34-24) also received production from its guards. Lewis Lloyd had 26 points--12 in the first quarter--and Lionel Hollins added 12.

For the third straight game, the Clippers (22-37) were led by Smith, who finished with 26 points.

Perhaps the Clippers’ best performance was turned in by Nixon, who scored 20 points while obviously favoring his badly bruised left hip that he injured Tuesday night in Portland.

“We still have a chance (to make the playoffs),” Nixon said. “And as long as we have a chance, I’m going to play if I’m able. I wanted to play. I got hit (in the hip) out there tonight, so I was favoring it, but (overall) I felt pretty good.”

Right now, the Clippers’ playoff chances don’t look so good. They are 10th overall in the Western Conference, and only the top eight qualify for the playoffs. They are 15 games under .500 with 23 to play.