Benjamin Cuts Kareem and Lakers Short

Usually, when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wants to shoot his distinctive, sweeping sky hook across the lane, there is little an opposing center can do to prevent it.

But Wednesday night, when it became obvious that the Lakers were going to Abdul-Jabbar for a potential game-winning hook, Clipper center Benoit Benjamin vowed to somehow, someway not let the Laker center sink the shot and, thus, sink the Clipper chances for another upset of their cross-town bullies.

As Abdul-Jabbar gathered in Magic Johnson’s pass with eight seconds to play and began his turn in the key for the hook, he found Benjamin guarding him so closely that it might have fogged his goggles.

Other Clipper players circled in from behind, and Abdul-Jabbar’s sky hook suddenly became an awkward eight-foot jump shot that came down a foot short of the rim, enabling the Clippers to eke out a 115-114 come-from-way-behind win before a Sports Arena crowd of 12,723.

“I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to give him the hook,” Benjamin said. “Kareem’s a good player, and he shoots that hook about 65% of the time, so I knew he was going to do it. The object is not to stop it, just to make him miss it.

“He had been tricking me with (the hook) all night, but I just got a hand up and tried to get as close to him as I could. I just worked hard and kept at it.”

Maybe Benjamin had seen Abdul-Jabbar sink sky hooks so often that he finally figured out what it took to stop it. Before his surprising air ball, Abdul-Jabbar had scored most of his game-high 34 points against Benjamin, who nonetheless had a sparkling offensive and rebounding night himself.

Benjamin, whose transformation into a quality center most likely has come too late to prevent the Clippers from again missing the playoffs, was dominating with 27 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Benjamin did not block Abdul-Jabbar’s final attempt, but he and Clipper point guard Norm Nixon may have bothered the Laker center just enough that the ball squirted out of his grasp.

“I got just a little piece of (the ball) as Kareem was swinging around for the shot,” Nixon said. “Then, he kind of lost control of it, and that was it.”

The theory provided by Laker Coach Pat Riley was different. Riley said he felt that Abdul-Jabbar was fouled. Abdul-Jabbar didn’t stick around the locker room long enough to give his side or to express his opinion of Benjamin, who had not been much of a distraction to the Laker center earlier this season.

Clipper Coach Don Chaney, however, was eager to talk about Benjamin, who also sank two pressure free throws with 30 seconds left to give the Clippers their final 115-114 lead.

“I think (General Manager) Carl Scheer put it the best I’ve heard about Ben’s play tonight--awesome,” Chaney said. “This is the best I’ve seen Ben. Kareem is a highly respected center by everyone, and he plays harder than usual against rookies. But Ben stayed right with him and didn’t back down.”

Riley, while unhappy that his team’s nine-game winning streak had ended in spite of a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, also marveled at Benjamin’s vastly improved play.

“He was awesome tonight,” Riley said.

Performances by several other Clippers rated as merely impressive but definitely much appreciated by Chaney.

Reserve point guard Franklin Edwards scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to begin the Clipper resurgence. Chaney said Edwards “played perfect basketball” in the fourth quarter, and he was almost right. Edwards made 6 of 7 shots and had 8 of the Clippers’ first 12 points in the quarter.

During that 12-2 Clipper run, the only Laker basket was scored by Abdul-Jabbar--on a sky hook.

“Franklin Edwards just wasn’t missing and (the Lakers’) team defense just wasn’t there,” Riley said.

The other pleasantly unexpected Clipper performance came from seldom-used forward Michael Cage, who played such good defense early in the fourth quarter that Chaney left starter Cedric Maxwell on the bench for the rest of the game.

The Lakers, meanwhile, had stretches in which they dominated the Clippers. But they seemingly punched out early and forgot to stay around for the fourth quarter.

Abdul-Jabbar was supported by Byron Scott’s 22 points and by Magic Johnson’s 18 points and 11 assists. James Worthy, who usually is at his best against the Clippers, had an off night with 16 points.

So, the second season of Laker-Clipper showdowns ended with the Lakers holding a 4-2 advantage this season. But the Clippers have won the last two games at the Sports Arena.

“The only problem with beating the Lakers,” Chaney said, “is that you get so high, then drop so low. If we can maintain this level of play, we’ll win a few games.”

Unfortunately for the Clippers, they have too few games remaining (12) and are seemingly too many games behind Sacramento (5) to turn things around and sneak into the playoffs.

But there is some consolation in beating the Lakers.

“It’s a much better feeling going on to next season knowing we beat the Lakers twice than not beating them at all,” Chaney said.

Notes

Clipper Coach Don Chaney said before the game that he wants management to tell him as soon as the season ends whether the club will re-hire him for next season. “The reason I want to know right away is because I want to have time to find another job if they fire me,” Chaney said. “I got hurt in Detroit (when he was an assistant) by that. But I’d like to stay here. The only way to build a good team is to have continuity. I want this job.” . . . Both teams leave today for road games. The Lakers travel to San Antonio for a Friday night game, then head to Sacramento Saturday night. The Clippers travel to Denver for a Friday night game, then return to the Sports Arena to play Detroit Saturday. . . . Clipper guard Junior Bridgeman, out since Feb. 25 with a partly torn ligament in his right thumb, was scheduled to be examined by Clipper doctors before Wednesday’s game. Chaney said if Bridgeman will be out for the remainder of the season, the club probably will sign a player to a 10-day contract.