Suns Keep the Clippers in Dark Defeat on Late Shot by Nance, 111-109

Ho hum.

The Clippers lost again.

So what else is new?

The injury-depleted team lost its 12th consecutive game Saturday night, this time to the Phoenix Suns.

But the Clippers, who at 3-15 are tied with New Jersey for the worst record in the National Basketball Assn., at least came close to winning for the first time since Nov. 11.

It took Larry Nance’s 16-foot baseline jumper with three seconds left, off a pass from Jeff Hornacek, to give the Suns a 111-109 victory before 6,296 fans at the Sports Arena.

“It’s like we were snake-bitten. This loss was a loss that could have been avoided,” Clipper Coach Don Chaney said.

The Clippers held an 88-87 lead going into the final period--only the second time in 18 games that the Clippers have been ahead after three periods. They’ve lost both times.

Nance’s shot came on a broken play. The Suns tried to set up guard Jay Humphries for the game-winning shot, but the Clippers had Humphries covered.

“I was just putting the ball up, and luckily it dropped for me,” said Nance, who had 23 points and 11 rebounds in 41 minutes. “The Clippers played us really tough. They kind of surprised us.

The shot was the second big play in two games for Nance. Friday night, he blocked a last-second shot by Michael Jordan, the Chicago Bulls’ star guard, to preserve a 114-112 victory by the Suns.

“I think this was equal to the block,” Nance said.

Humphries, the former Inglewood High star, led the Suns with 30 points and 6 assists. He had 15 points in the first period as Phoenix jumped to a 37-34 lead.

“Humphries played very well,” Sun Coach John MacLeod said. “He had a big game tonight.”

The Suns (9-9) were playing without star guard Walter Davis, their leading scorer, who suffered a sprained left shoulder in Friday night’s game. The shoulder was sore when Davis woke up Saturday morning, and he didn’t make the trip to Los Angeles.

“I felt I needed to put up a few more shots because Walter was out,” Humphries said.

Humphries made 13 of 17 shots and 4 of 5 free throws in 36 minutes. He also had 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 rebounds.

The Clippers, who had just 10 healthy players, were missing center Benoit Benjamin and guard Larry Drew, in addition to Marques Johnson and Norm Nixon.

However, guard Mike Woodson and rookie center Tim Kempton picked up the slack.

Woodson, who had gotten off to a slow start after undergoing off-season knee surgery, broke out of a shooting slump with 32 points, the most scored by a Clipper this season. He had 18 points in the first quarter and wound up with 20 in the first half. For the game, he made 12 of 20 shots, including a three-pointer, and 7 of 8 free throws.

“This is the best game I’ve had since I’ve been a Clipper, and I hope it’s not my last,” said Woodson, who was acquired from Sacramento last summer in the Derek Smith trade. “Somebody’s got to step forward for us and help us get a win.

“We played well enough to win tonight. We’ve just got to get over the hump.”

Kempton provided a big lift in the fourth quarter, scoring four consecutive points to give the Clippers a 96-95 lead. He made a tip-in and then followed with a wrap-around layin, dribbling behind his back on the drive to the basket. Kempton finished with a 7 points and 3 rebounds in 12 minutes.

“The next best thing to winning is losing-but-improving,” Kempton said. “We played good, hard defense and we deserved to win. At least, we improved our overall game.”

Center Kurt Nimphius, who started in place of Benjamin, added 19 points, and Michael Cage had 17. Cedric Maxwell had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Trailing, 109-105, after Nance slammed home a missed shot by Mike Saunders with 1 minute 22 seconds left, the Clippers scored four straight to tie it at 109-109.

Maxwell scored on a drive with 35 seconds left, and point guard Geoff Huston made a layup with 10 seconds left.

Huston’s tying basket was set up when the Clippers picked off Nance’s inbounds pass to Alvan Adams. Nimphius deflected the pass to Cage, and Cage set up Huston.

Clipper Notes

This is the Clippers’ longest losing streak since moving to Los Angeles from San Diego in 1984. The team record is 19 straight losses, which was set from March 11 to April 13, 1982. . . . Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor said the club is close to signing free-agent guard Quintin Dailey. . . . The Clippers play will Seattle at the Sports Arena Wednesday night. . . . Phoenix center James Edwards is scheduled to undergo surgery on his Achilles’ tendon Thursday and could be out for the rest of the season. . . . Referee Jess Kersey was shaken up in the first quarter when hit in the head on a dunk by Phoenix guard Jay Humphries. . . . Sun rookie center William Bedford, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee before the start of the season and missed the first 14 games, limped off the court at the end of the first period but returned in the third. . . . Sun Coach John MacLeod praised Clipper Coach Don Chaney after the game for having his team well-prepared.