Clippers, Less Than Max, Lose to Celtics, 114-101

Even in the best of times, the Clippers would be overmatched against the Boston Celtics.

And these aren’t exactly the best of times for the Clippers.

They went into Saturday night’s game against the defending National Basketball Assn. champions without forward Cedric Maxwell, who was home in bed with food poisoning.

Kenny Fields started his first game as a Clipper in place of Maxwell and was assigned to guard Larry Bird.

Predictably, Bird did well, scoring a game-high 27 points as the Celtics whipped the short-handed Clippers, 114-101, before an announced crowd of 14,410 fans at the Sports Arena.

Bird played 42 minutes and made 11 of 24 shots from the field, including 2 of 6 three-point shots. He passed off for 8 assists, grabbed 7 rebounds and blocked 5 shots.

He also had one of the best lines of the night.

When a reporter asked him why he was soaking his feet in a bucket of ice water after the game, Bird said: “Somebody has to take care of the ice water while Bill Walton is gone.”

The Celtics, who have lost the oft-injured Walton and Scott Wedman because of ailments, have struggled on the road, where they have a 7-7 record.

Although they showed flashes of brilliance against the Clippers, they seemed sluggish (19 turnovers) until they put the game away with a fourth-period blitz.

“Right now, we’re not playing very good basketball,” Bird said. “Tonight was an indication of how we’ve been playing.

“We’ve struggled and we’re still struggling. We turned the ball over too many times tonight and we missed easy shots. We can’t do that.

“They (the Clippers) played better than we anticipated. They went to the offensive boards and played scrappy defense and stayed in the game.”

Had Maxwell been able to play, he probably would have guarded Bird.

Instead, it was Fields who drew the assignment. Rory White took over against Bird after Fields got into foul trouble.

Fields, who at 6 feet 7 inches gave away two inches to Bird, said: “People don’t realize Larry Bird is 6-9. He’s a big guy.

“I’ll foul out before I’ll let somebody score 50 against me. I thought this was as good a game as I’ve played. We showed progress as a team.

“Eventually, we’re going to turn this around. God only knows when.”

The Clippers stayed close for three quarters, but Boston outscored them, 33-25, in the fourth.

“I had hopes until the last minute that something would happen and we would pull it out,” Clipper Coach Don Chaney said. “As a coach, you’re always hoping for something to fall into your corner and get you over the hump.”

The Clippers (4-23) have lost eight straight games and 20 of their last 21, winning only once in the last 47 days. But help is on the way in the person of free-agent guard Quintin Dailey, who officially became a Clipper after the game and will make his debut with the team Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets.

In beating the Clippers, the Celtics (18-9) won their second straight game. Before that, they had lost two straight on the road by 20 or more points for the first time since the 1969-70 season.

Kevin McHale scored 26 points and hauled down 12 rebounds in 42 minutes against the Clippers. He also had 6 assists and 3 blocked shots.

“It just took awhile for us to get it going,” McHale said. “We haven’t been playing well.”

All of the Celtic starters scored in double figures.

Center Robert Parish scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Guard Dennis Johnson added 15 points and had 8 assists, and Danny Ainge scored 14 points and had 7 assists.

Forward Michael Cage led the Clippers with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Fields had 16 points and 6 assists before fouling out.

Center Benoit Benjamin, who was booed during pregame introductions, had 13 points and 9 rebounds in 39 minutes, and Rory White and Lancaster Gordon came off the bench to score 12 points apiece.

Clipper Notes

Free-agent guard Quintin Dailey, who signed an offer sheet with the Clippers on Dec. 12, officially became a Clipper Saturday night when the Chicago Bulls failed to match the offer sheet. Dailey will join the team Monday for practice, will wear uniform No. 20 and will be suited up for Tuesday night’s game against the Houston Rockets at the Sports Arena. . . . The Celtics have an 8-5 record this month, putting them over .500 for 50 consecutive months. Boston has never had a losing month since Larry Bird joined the team in 1979. The Celtics close out the trip with games in Sacramento on Monday and Seattle on Tuesday. . . . Bird was voted the most popular athlete in Boston by a poll of fans in the Boston Herald. Bird, who had 3,745 votes, beat out Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox (1,875). . . . Clipper forward Kenny Fields got into an altercation with Fred Roberts in the first half, but the two were quickly pulled apart by the officials.