Clippers Beaten by Mavericks, 129-100; It’s Loss No. 65 in Game No. 77

The Clippers probably wish they had never traded center James Donaldson to the Dallas Mavericks last season.

Donaldson came back to haunt the Clippers, scoring 18 points and grabbing 17 rebounds Saturday night as the Mavericks beat the Clippers, 129-100, before an announced crowd of 6,120 at the Sports Arena.

The Clippers have lost 9 straight games, 21 of their last 23 and 65 of their first 77.

Donaldson was acquired by Dallas in a trade for forward Kurt Nimphius. Nimphius was traded to Detroit this season for a first-round draft pick.

“We certainly could use him (Donaldson),” Clipper Coach Don Chaney said. “I wanted to delay the trade. I thought the timing was poor. Basically, he’s doing the same things he was doing for us.”

The Clippers traded Donaldson because they wanted to give center Benoit Benjamin more playing time.

Benjamin, however, has not developed as fast as anticipated, while Donaldson is flourishing in Dallas. He is the top-rebounding center in the National Basketball Assn. this season.

“No, I definitely wouldn’t have made the trade,” Clipper forward Michael Cage said. “I thought Ben was a little young at the time. But the team felt differently. They felt that Ben would mature.”

Benjamin, who was playing in his second game after missing three straight due to bronchitis, had 3 points and 4 rebounds in a lackluster 14 minutes off the bench.

“Ben looks like he’s given up on the season,” said a Clipper teammate, who asked not to be identified.

Said Donaldson: “Everyone’s against Ben. Poor Ben. He’s not playing as strong as he did at the end of last year. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He hasn’t responded to the challenge this year.”

The Clippers, who trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half, closed to within four points at 79-75 late in the third period.

However, Donaldson scored six points and blocked a shot as the Mavericks took control of the game. Donaldson had 13 points in the second half.

The Mavericks put the game away in the fourth period, outscoring the Clippers, 39-17.

“Everyone stepped it up another gear,” Donaldson said of the Dallas surge.

Dallas (53-26), which already has clinched the Midwest Division title, has won two straight.

Forward Mark Aguirre led Dallas with 20 points, including 18 in the first half. Roy Tarpley came off the bench to score 20 points and grab 12 rebounds. Detlef Schrempf added 17 points and passed off for six assists.

“The Mavericks are good. They’re like the Lakers,” Chaney said. “They’re so strong that they can hurt you inside and outside.”

Kenny Fields came off the bench to lead the Clippers with 18 points. Cage had 17 points and 8 rebounds, and center Earl Cureton added 13 points and hauled down 10 rebounds.

Point guard Darnell Valentine had 10 points and 9 assists.

Aguirre, who had sat out the Mavericks’ last game because of bruised ribs, returned to action against the Clippers.

Matched against Cage, Aguirre scored 18 points in 18 minutes in the first half as Dallas took a 65-54 lead by the intermission. He hit 7 of 8 shots from the floor in the half and 4 of 5 free throws.

The Mavericks shot 70% from the floor in the first period, hitting 14 of 20 shots en route to a 34-24 lead. The Clippers shot 41.7% in the period.

Clipper Notes

Clipper guard Mike Woodson sat out the game with a strained left arch suffered in Thursday’s 118-100 loss to the Lakers. . . . The Clippers will try to snap a 16-game road losing streak when they play at Portland tonight. They have lost 18 of their last 19 road games. The Trail Blazers are 5-0 against the Clippers this season. The Clippers have lost their last 18 games in Portland dating back to Feb. 24, 1981. The Clippers close out their home season with games against Golden State on Tuesday and Seattle on Thursday. . . . Injured Clipper star Marques Johnson said his arbitration hearing to settle a contract dispute with the club will be held next Friday in New York.