The NBA / Gordon Edes : Donaldson Reaching the Heights in Dallas

There are worse things in life than being a Clipper, although it’s much easier to say that once you’ve become an ex-Clipper.

Just ask Dallas center James Donaldson, who has escaped Clipperdom and emerged as a primary reason the Mavericks may be the No. 1 threat to Laker supremacy in the NBA’s Western Conference.

“I hear the stories out of L.A.,” said Donaldson, who smiles readily when asked if he continues to follow the Clippers, who traded him last winter for the now-departed Kurt Nimphius.

“Being associated with the Clippers, going through losing seasons, that was tough at times, but I also got the chance to become a starting center, to play full-time and develop my game further.”

How far has Donaldson come? Check the numbers: The 7-foot 2-inch, 277-pounder is the league’s top-rebounding center, with an average of just more than 12 a game. That’s more than Moses Malone, more than Akeem Olajuwon, more than Robert Parish.

No one took Donaldson too seriously in Seattle, when he served as backup to Jack Sikma. And his confidence hardly shot up when even the Clippers decided he was disposable, though Clipper Coach Don Chaney opposed the trade to no avail.

“Centers are expected to do so much, because they’re the biggest, strongest guys out there,” Donaldson said. “They put pressure on the center on every team to provide the big shots, the big blocks and the big rebounds.

“With the Clippers, I had good games, but they were never good enough.”

They’re good enough in Dallas, a team that was a reliable center away from joining the league’s elite.

“I don’t feel I’ve elevated my game that much, but I’ve improved every single year,” Donaldson said. “And my confidence level is up.

“I’m never sure what people classified me as, but I’m getting to be a better player all the time. All the things I’ve been working on are beginning to fall into place.

“My scoring is not needed on this team. That burden has been lifted off my shoulders, so I can concentrate on rebounding. Am I an elite center? I don’t know, but I know now that I can play against the elite guys night after night.”

Working overtime: By playing 64 minutes in Golden State’s 150-147 four-overtime win over New Jersey on Sunday, Warrior guard Sleepy Floyd tied a National Basketball Assn. record held by Norm Nixon.

Nixon’s team at the time, the Lakers, lost that one, 154-153, to the Cleveland Cavaliers Jan. 29, 1980.

New Jersey forward Orlando Woolridge, who fouled out in the third overtime Sunday, also played in the NBA’s last four-overtime game. He was with Chicago when the Bulls beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 156-155, March 16, 1984.

“So I’m now 1-1 in four-overtime games,” he said. “I guess all I learned was that if you’d known it was going to be that long, you would have paced yourself better.”

Overtime numbers: Sunday’s game lasted 3 hours 20 minutes. The teams took 251 shots and 78 free throws, and there were 130 rebounds. Net forward Buck Williams had a career-high 27 rebounds. Golden State center Joe Barry Carroll had a career-high 24. Four players fouled out: Woolridge and Pearl Washington of the Nets, Purvis Short and Larry Smith of the Warriors.

Said Warrior Coach George Karl: “I probably walked further today than all the rest of my life.”

The NBA turned down Alex English’s offer of relinquishing his All-Star spot to Denver Nugget teammate Lafayette (Fat) Lever. The gesture was not out of character for English.

A year ago, he organized a famine-relief drive for Ethiopia and persuaded players to donate their All-Star shares to the fund. Last Thanksgiving, he spent two days delivering a week’s worth of groceries to poor families in Denver and his hometown of Columbia, S.C.

Sparky Pritchard, who serves as the Nuggets’ team chaplain, estimated that English’s grocery bill was “safely in the thousands of dollars. To him, it was worth every cent.”

Laker Coach Pat Riley has a 1-3 record as coach of the NBA’s Western Conference All-Stars. He’ll be coaching again Sunday in Seattle.

Said Riley: “They’ll probably boo me when I walk in the locker room.”

Straight shooter: In an interview in the March issue of Sport Magazine, columnist Peter Vecsey asked Larry Bird about a comment by Celtic teammate Kevin McHale that Coach K.C. Jones was playing the Celtics’ starters too many minutes.

Said Bird: “Man, if you can’t play 45 minutes a night, you’re not taking care of yourself, not getting enough rest after the game. If you’re tired, then the next day you tell the coach, and you don’t practice. It’s as simple as that.

“We’re in the prime of our lives. We’re paid to play 48 minutes. What’s the big deal unless you’re injured?

“I’ll tell you something about Kevin. Kevin’s gotta learn how to play this game again. Because when the ball goes into you and there are two or three men on you, it just stands to reason that there’s somebody open for a 20-footer.

“It was different when Kevin was coming off the bench and he was getting the ball on the end of the play. Now he’s getting the ball on the first pass and he’s putting it right up. Danny (Ainge) will say, ‘I was open, Kevin.’ And Kevin will say, ‘I didn’t see you sitting on top of the rim.’ ”