Rory White Scores 29 as Hot Clippers Defeat Nets, 103-98

What makes forward Rory White, the least-paid and probably the least-known member of the Clippers, such an important role player is that he knows his limitations and hardly ever tries to go beyond them.

But with his teammates either hobbled by injuries or sleepwalking through Monday night’s game against the New Jersey Nets before 5,847 at the Sports Arena, White took it upon himself to carry the Clippers to a 103-98 win, the club’s fifth in the last six games.

Although White was held scoreless in the fourth quarter, when Marques Johnson and Cedric Maxwell took control, his unexpected 29 points in the first three quarters enabled the Clippers to be in a position to put away the frayed Nets, who have lost three of their last four games.

White’s 29-point output matched his career high reached earlier this month at Philadelphia. Clipper players were pleasantly shocked when White scored so prolifically in Philadelphia, but now they are getting used to seeing him hoist his short, turnaround jump shots.

“I find myself even calling plays for Rory White now,” Clipper Coach Don Chaney said. “I do sound surprised. But now, he seems like any other of our go-to guys when we need a basket.”

Not quite, though. When the Clippers found themselves trading leads with New Jersey in the fourth quarter, White found himself on the bench. Even after Chaney re-inserted White with 4:25 left, drawing cheers from the crowd, he played merely a supporting role as Johnson, Maxwell and Benoit Benjamin snuffed out any Net comeback hopes.

The closest the Nets came in the final two minutes was two points (98-96) when Benjamin was called for goaltending on Buck Williams’ short jumper. From that point, Maxwell made 5 of 6 free-throw attempts to assure the Clippers of their 18th win in 47 games.

Despite the fact that White wasn’t a factor in the final quarter, he still was the talk of the locker room. At $85,000, White may be the league’s lowest-paid starter. In fact, he was making the NBA minimum of $70,000 before the Clippers decided to give him the $15,000 they agreed upon before having to trim his salary because of salary-cap restrictions.

“I couldn’t be happier for him,” Clipper guard Junior Bridgeman said. “Here’s a guy who has not had the silver spoon in his mouth like a lot of us. He’s had to work at it to even make the league. I’m his biggest cheerleader.”

Until Derek Smith went down with a torn knee cartilage in November and Johnson moved to big guard, White was little more than a cheerleader. But he has been a defensive specialist for Chaney and, recently, somewhat of an offensive threat.

“Rory White is making a name for himself,” Chaney said. “He’s a very smart player. He knows his limitations and knows what to do in a certain situation.”

Monday night, White looked at the situation and saw Johnson hobbled by a sore left hip, Maxwell hampered by a hemorrhoidal condition and reserves Michael Cage (sprained left thumb) and Lancaster Gordon (bruised sternum) on the bench in street clothes.

“I knew I was going to have to go out and play all phases of the game,” White said. “I knew Marques was hurting, and I just wanted to contribute. At the beginning of the game, I made a couple baskets, and the guys just kept getting me the ball. I have the confidence that I can score 20 points if we need it.”

They needed it. Johnson, noticeably hobbled, scored only 8 points in 36 minutes, but half his points came in the fourth quarter. Maxwell and guard Darnell Valentine came off the bench to score 16 points, while big men Kurt Nimphius and Benjamin each had 11.

New Jersey was led by Darryl Dawkins’ 22 points, but he was of no help to the Nets after fouling out with 2:47 left and then responding to taunts by the fans by saluting them with an obscene gesture.

Albert King, who had problems guarding White, scored 17 points. Williams had an off night offensively, scoring only nine points, but led both teams in rebounding with 12. Micheal Ray Richardson had 16 off the bench.

“I feel good about this one,” Chaney said. “We were shorthanded and had a lot of things against us. But we got contributions from everyone. New Jersey is capable of winning on the road and they didn’t quit tonight.”

Neither the Nets nor the Clippers quit, but they weren’t exactly playing a Picasso of a game, either. The Clippers shot 48.6%, the Nets 43%. And each team had 16 turnovers in a game that remained in second gear most of the way.

But even though Chaney took out a bottle of eye wash to soothe his eyes, he nonetheless liked what he saw.

“I’d like to see this every night,” he said.

Clipper Notes

The Clippers have asked injured guard Derek Smith to get a second opinion from another doctor--probably Dr. William Curran in San Diego--concerning the cartilage in his left knee. It has been 10 1/2 weeks since Smith had undergone arthroscopic surgery, and Coach Don Chaney said he doesn’t expect Smith back until after the All-Star break (Feb. 11). “I really don’t know what to do about getting another player (on a 10-day contract),” General Manager Carl Scheer said. “I was looking for Derek to come back, but I trust that he knows his condition. But I also have complete trust in (team doctor) Tony Daly. It’s just taken him a long time to come back.” . . . The Western Conference coach voted for the remaining spots for the All-Star Game on Feb. 9. The selection will be announced today and the Clippers’ Marques Johnson is expected to make the team . . . Darnell Valentine has changed uniform numbers from 15 to 1.