White Leads the Clippers Again But Can’t Offset Johnson’s Loss

Unheralded Rory White went on another scoring rampage Wednesday night at the Sports Arena, but the unfortunate things for the Clippers was that they didn’t have much else to throw at the Phoenix Suns.

White, becoming a veritable scoring machine these days, kept the Clippers close throughout with a career-high 32 points in an exhausting 42 minutes, but he had little left in the final minutes when the Suns pulled out a 118-108 victory before a tiny but interested crowd of 6,058.

It was bad enough that the Clippers began the game without leading scorer Marques Johnson, bothered by a badly bruised left hip, as well as injured guard Derek Smith (still recovering from knee surgery).

By halftime, they also were without rookie center Benoit Benjamin, ejected with 3:54 left in the second quarter for fighting with Sun center James Edwards. If that wasn’t enough, reserves Michael Cage (dislocated finger) and Lancaster Gordon (sprained ankle) were lost in the second half.

The attrition of bodies was such that only eight very tired Clippers were left for the final six minutes, and none of those available could stop Phoenix’s Walter Davis and Larry Nance.

Davis, held to nine points in the first half, exploded for 15 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 30. Nance added 10 points in the fourth quarter, including two crucial jump shots in the final 2:15 that ended Clipper comeback hopes. Nance finished with 24 points.

White, the $85,000-a-year starting small forward who had 29 points in Monday’s win over New Jersey, did his scoring in spurts. He had an 11-point first quarter and a 15-point third quarter, but was gasping for air in the fourth quarter.

Several other Clippers tried their best to support White, but it wasn’t enough. Cedric Maxwell scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds in 37 minutes, while Junior Bridgeman had 16 points in a season-high 35 minutes. Before Gordon sprained his ankle midway through the fourth quarter, he had scored 12 off the bench.

Gordon is expected to return to the lineup in time for Saturday night’s game at Portland, but Cage will be lost for two weeks after dislocating the middle finger on his right (non-shooting) hand at the same time Gordon sprained his ankle. The shorthanded Clippers might will try to sign another power forward to a 10-day contract, depending on the results of Cage’s X-rays today.

Benjamin, meanwhile, will return Saturday night $250 poorer after being ejected for brawling with Edwards. The big men exchanged slaps underneath the backboard before squaring off. Actually, Edwards squared off and Benjamin took off, backpeddling about 15 feet before deciding to get some swings in.

Both players were restrained. Sun guard Jay Humphries held back Edwards, who, in turn, shoved Humphries. Benjamin, suffering from a cold, left the arena at halftime.

A tape of the incident will be sent to the league office and further fines might be forthcoming.

If the Clippers were inspired by Benjamin’s tussle with Edwards late in the second quarter, they didn’t show it.

The Clippers led the Suns, 53-49, with 3:54 left in the half when Benjamin and Edwards were ejected. After the excitement ended, Phoenix methodically outscored the Clippers, 12-4, to take a 61-57 lead into the locker room.

Earlier in the second quarter, the Clippers showed a lot of fight. Trailing the Suns, 38-32 with 10:32 left, the Clippers went on an impressive 12-0 run to grab a six-point lead with 7:48 left.

In that stretch, the Clippers combined hot shooting with pressure defense. Lancaster Gordon, who missed Monday’s win over New Jersey with a badly bruised chest, sank four jump shots and point guard Darnell Valentine was the defensive catalyst.

Valentine reached behind Rod Foster one time down the court and knocked the ball to center Kurt Nimphius. Nimphius then alertly threw a length of the court pass to the streaking Valentine for a breakaway layup. The next time down the court, White cut in front of a Sun to steal a pass and then convert a breakaway dunk. The Clippers could not put away the Suns, however. Phoenix briefly regained the lead, 49-48, before the Clippers surged again and scored three straight baskets on jumpers by Gordon, Bridgeman and Valentine.

That was when the Benjamin incident occured and it seemed to break the Clippers’ concentration the rest of the half.

If the sight of an angry Benjamin was surprising, so, too, was Valentine’s successful three-point shot to end the first quarter. In his first four NBA seasons, Valentine was 0-for-15 in three-point attempts, and he was 1-for-4 going into Wednesday’s game.

Valentine’s desperation shot enabled the Clippers to pull within two points, 32-30, at the end of the first quarter.

White led the Clippers with 13 first-half points, while Gordon scored 10 in the second quarter. Reserve Bernard Thompson had 12 for the Suns, Nance and Humphries adding 10 each.

Clipper Notes

A prominently displayed sign at the Sports Arena Wednesday night read: “Root For A Raise For Rory.” It was referring to forward Rory White, who is starting at forward for the Clippers with an $85,000 salary. . . . Marques Johnson was voted onto the All-Star team for the fifth time this season, but it was his first time in the Western Conference and first as a guard. Johnson has been playing guard since Derek Smith underwent knee surgery on Nov. 13. The competition at forward was fierce--Adrian Dantley and Alex English were added by the coaches, so Johnson’s best bet to make it was at guard. . . . Johnson spent part of his time before Wednesday’s game watching Crenshaw High, his alma mater, easily beat Dorsey High in a preliminary game at the Sports Arena. . . . The Clippers’ next game is Saturday night in Portland.