Chaney Pounds Walls After Clippers Take Another Pounding

The Clippers never have much to say after games such as Sunday afternoon’s pitiful 129-112 loss to the Indiana Pacers. Most of the players merely shrugged and uttered barely audible responses about being thoroughly embarrassed.

Behind closed doors, however, Clipper owner Donald T. Sterling and Coach Don Chaney apparently had much to say. They met in Chaney’s office for a half hour and, according to Chaney, the subject was “some problems” with the team.

Given the Clippers’ multitude of problems, many of which were on display again Sunday before 6,106 at the Sports Arena, it is a wonder Sterling and Chaney didn’t talk all night. Twice during the meeting, there was loud pounding on the walls, but the volume of the conversation was not loud enough for it to be heard.

After the meeting ended, Chaney said it was he who punched the walls, no doubt out of frustration of the Clippers’ awful play against the second worst team in the Eastern Conference.

“(Sterling) doesn’t understand the game, so he wanted a clarification,” Chaney, visibly shaken, said. “I tried to explain it to him as easily as possible. . . . I’d rather talk to him when I’m a lot calmer. I don’t like losing and I don’t like talking about our problems right after a loss.”

Chaney did not elaborate on his conversation with Sterling. Asked by one writer if he still has a job, Chaney smiled and said: “I’ll have one as long as you do.”

That was Chaney’s only smile of the day. In recording their sixth loss in seven games, the Clippers shot only 40.7%, grabbed only 39 rebounds and showed little effort to try to beat a team that has struggled even more than they.

Although the Clippers staged several surges to keep it from being an epic blowout, this one was clearly over after a first quarter in which the Pacers led, 37-22. Indiana shot 81% from the field to the Clippers’ 30%, and, at one point, the Pacers held a 10-1 rebounding advantage.

“I’m really at a loss for words,” Marques Johnson said. “We would have been better off staying in bed today. I don’t know whether it was a case of taking a team too lightly, as if we could do that, or what.”

Since defining just how poorly the Clippers’ played Sunday was difficult, two plays, both occurring in the second half, typified the afternoon:

First, after Benoit Benjamin received his fifth foul with 4:38 left in the third quarter, he saw that Chaney had summoned Kurt Nimphius off the bench. As play resumed and Nimphius waited at the scorer’s table to enter the game, Benjamin trotted to the bench and sat down.

Referee Ed Middleton, noticing the Clippers had only four players on the court, called a technical foul. Only then was Nimphius allowed to enter the game. Benjamin, meanwhile, sat out the rest of the game.

Second, midway through the fourth quarter, after a feeble Clipper comeback bid had been squelched, reserve guard Lancaster Gordon lost the ball to the Pacers’ Vern Fleming and did not move as Fleming rambled in for a layup.

“I remember that play,” Chaney said. “And (Gordon) will hear about that from me.”

The Pacers (21-40) gave a lot more effort than the Clippers on this day. The front court of Herb Williams (24 points, 17 rebounds), Wayman Tisdale (19 points) and Steve Stipanovich (17 points, 11 rebounds) dominated.

No one on the Clippers (22-38) played well, but reserve forward Rory White seemingly gave the best effort. White had 20 points off the bench and reserve guard Franklin Edwards, seeing playing time because Norm Nixon was out with a strained left hamstring, added 18.

Among the starters, Cedric Maxwell (23 points, 10 rebounds) provided the most production. Maxwell, as usual, also provided the best post-game quotes.

“Why? Why? Same thing they asked about the space shuttle. Why did it blow up? We just did not play well. The coaches prepared us, but it was really like it was a shoot-around before a night game. Let’s cancel what happened and play again tonight (Sunday night).

“We got down early and by the time we opened our eyes we were down by 20. Funeral time, baby. A real embarrassment.”

Before the game, Chaney worried about the Clippers’ condition after concluding a week-long East Coast trip Friday night in Boston and flying to Los Angeles Saturday before Sunday’s day game.

Maxwell, however, didn’t buy that theory.

“Fatigue had nothing to do with it,” he said. “We were a failure. Shooting, a failure. Rebounding, failure. Blocking out, failure. Loose ball, failure.

“Whole game, ditto.”

Clipper Notes

Derek Smith remains on the injured list, but it is not because of his knee, which required arthroscopic surgery in November. Lately, Smith has been suffering from a viral infection that has restricted his rehabilitation. Although Smith still is listed day-to-day by the Clippers, General Manager Carl Scheer said Smith might be out for the remainder of the season. “There’s a chance (he might be out for the season),” Scheer said. “(Team doctor) Tony Daly is more optimistic, but I’m losing it. His conditioning has so fallen back because of the virus, I don’t know.” . . . The Clippers meet Cleveland Tuesday night at the Sports Arena.