Clippers Are Eliminated Despite a 132-127 Win

Word of San Antonio’s playoff-clinching victory over Phoenix Wednesday night, which assured the Clippers of missing the NBA playoffs for the 10th consecutive season, came midway through the third quarter of the Clipper-Denver game at the Sports Arena.

Playoff dreams sometimes die hard, and before the result of the San Antonio game was known, the Clippers had tried gallantly to keep alive their slim hopes by outplaying the Nuggets.

But when the announcement was made during a timeout, the Clippers easily could have packed it in, since the outcome meant nothing in terms of the playoff race. Instead, the Clippers responded as if it did mean something, holding off the Nuggets to post a 132-127 victory before 8,931 fans at the Sports Arena.

Clipper Coach Don Chaney apparently did not hear the earlier public address announcement and waited until there was one minute left in the Clipper game before asking a sportswriter at courtside to pass along the Spurs’ score. Told the result, Chaney merely shrugged.

“I heard the announcement,” guard Norm Nixon said. “Sure, we were disappointed, but we did it to ourselves by not winning that Golden State game (last Saturday). Realistically, we had so many chances to win a lot of games and didn’t.”

Cedric Maxwell, the club’s comedic power forward, also heard it. Being his usual flippant self, Maxwell whistled, “Taps,” in the locker room afterward and lamented the playoff elimination.

“Shhh,” Maxwell said, bowing his head. “A moment of silence for the Clippers. . . . Bring in the priest. There’s no pulse.

“Listen, I wasn’t surprised when they made the announcement, because I knew Phoenix was going to lose to San Antonio. The way Phoenix has been trying to miss the playoffs, the next player they were going to put in the lineup was the janitor. And if he wouldn’t play, they’d go with four guys.”

So, the Clippers’ slim chance of making the playoffs--they needed to win all of their remaining games and San Antonio lose all of theirs--has vanished. The Clippers will now have to find another motivation for their final three games of the season.

For one, how about improving on last season’s 31-51 record?

The Clippers reached 31 wins Wednesday night and need only a victory over Portland tonight or Dallas Saturday night or Phoenix Sunday night to better that mark.

Another motivation may be a late stab at saving Coach Don Chaney’s job. Chaney’s contract expires Sunday, and his status has not been decided. However, the fact that the Clippers have won five of their last six games can’t hurt his chances.

When the subject became Chaney, Maxwell stopped joking.

“My only hope is that we, as a team, can stay together and they won’t make any changes,” Maxwell said. “Don has made a lot of improvements in his time. He turned Ben (rookie center Benoit Benjamin) around when we thought no one could and he’s learned a lot as a coach. We want Don back.”

Marques Johnson, who scored 32 points Wednesday night in a superb effort, also lobbied for Chaney to be rehired.

“Hopefully, this strong finish will convince the guys upstairs (management) to keep Don,” Johnson said. “If they were wavering, if they were thinking about massive changes, maybe this will change that.”

Chaney, who said neither General Manager Carl Scheer nor owner Donald T. Sterling has talked to him about his status, said he plans to approach management immediately after the season.

“We’re starting to play very well,” Chaney said. “I hope they realize that. We shouldn’t make any changes, from the general manager on down.”

Perhaps if the Clippers had started playing well earlier in the season, they wouldn’t be in this familiar position.

In any event, Chaney was impressed that the Clippers did not give up Wednesday.

Johnson wouldn’t hear of it. He played a spectacular game, making 15 of 21 shots, grabbing 6 rebounds and passing off 7 assists. Johnson was supported by Benjamin, who had 24 points and 11 rebounds despite suffering from the flu. Maxwell added 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Nixon had 18 points.

Alex English scored 31 points for the Nuggets, whose modest two-game road win streak was snapped. Danny Schayes added 24 points off the bench, and Calvin Natt had 18.

“Denver wanted to beat us tonight,” Chaney said. “It wasn’t as if they weren’t trying. We took care of our end by winning. This confirms my feeling about these (Clipper) players in terms of their character. What we have to do from here on in is keep playing like it does mean something and finish strong.”

Clipper Notes The Clippers play tonight at Portland, where they haven’t had the best of luck, to say the least. Since 1981, the Clippers are 0-16 against the Trail Blazers at Portland. . . . Saturday night’s Clipper-Dallas game at the Sports Arena, the club’s home finale, will be “Fan Appreciation Night.” Among the prizes to be given away will be a washing machine and Clipper season tickets, not necessarily in that order.