Clippers, Picking Up Where They Left Off, Lose to Denver by 46

Is this any way to open a season?

The Clippers, pro basketball’s worst team last season, played down to expectations against the Denver Nuggets Friday night in their 1987-88 season opener.

The Nuggets ran the Clippers out of the Mile High City, crushing them, 139-93, before 11,534 fans at McNichols Arena.

One down and 81 games to go.

The 46-point margin of defeat equaled the largest in the Clippers’ 18-year history.

“We took a thorough . . . whipping tonight,” Clipper guard Mike Woodson said. “I don’t think anyone did their job tonight. We just all played terrible.”

The Clippers welcomed Coach Gene Shue back to the National Basketball Assn. by putting on one of their worst exhibitions of pro basketball.

But Shue, who has made a career out of rebuilding bad teams, managed to retain his optimistic outlook after the blowout.

“We obviously are in the process of trying to get things together,” Shue said. “This was the beginning. Now you’ve seen the team. I don’t get discouraged. I have a lot of patience.”

Shue will need tons of patience to coach the Clippers this season.

The Clippers shot 38.3% and were dominated on the boards, 57-37. And they didn’t get back on defense as the Nuggets ran their fast break like the Lakers.

After trailing by 21 points at halftime, 69-48, the Clippers completely collapsed in the third period as the Nuggets blitzed them, 41-17.

Shue, who has six first-year players on the team, went with a rookie lineup in the fourth period.

Clipper center Benoit Benjamin, a flop last season, looked as though he was playing in the Twilight Zone before he left the game in the third period with a sprained left ankle.

Benjamin got hurt with 9:28 left in the third quarter when he fell over Fat Lever after blocking the Nugget guard’s shot.

Big Ben had just 3 points, 3 rebounds, 4 turnovers and 3 blocked shots in 21 minutes.

“Benoit is a project,” Shue said. “That’s the way I’m treating him.”

Reggie Williams, the Clippers’ top draft choice, was the only Clipper who looked halfway decent. Williams came off the bench to score 16 points in his NBA debut. He also had 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots.

Williams, who has never played on a losing team in high school or college, took the loss in stride.

“We’ve got to take this like men,” Williams said. “We can’t dwell on this. I’m not discouraged, but I don’t like losing.”

Williams got a technical foul in the third period after he asked the officials to call the game both ways.

The Nuggets, who set a team record for the biggest margin of victory, figure to be a force in the Western Conference this season.

Forward Alex English led the Nuggets with 22 points, and center Wayne Cooper had 17 points and 9 rebounds.

Lever had a triple double with 11 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.

Denver Coach Doug Moe said: “The Clippers are struggling with all the young players. They’ll get better as they go along.”

Clipper Notes

Alex English moved into 14th place on the All-time NBA scoring list, passing Bob Lanier and Dolph Schayes. English has scored 19,264 points in his 12-year career. . . . Clipper rookie Joe Wolf, who started at power forward, got off to a good start before he got into foul trouble. Wolf made his first three shots. . . . Larry Drew, who started in place of the injured Norman Nixon, made only 5 of 14 shots. Quintin Dailey, his backcourt mate, didn’t do much better, making 5 of 12.