Aguirre Slims Down, Helps Dallas Fatten Up on Clippers, 97-87

Mark Aguirre lost 24 pounds last summer, but he didn’t lose his shooting touch.

Aguirre, the Dallas Mavericks’ All-Star forward, hired a live-in cook to force him to diet.

And he has taken his game to a higher level after swearing off junk food.

The Clippers got their first look at the slimmed-down version of Aguirre here Wednesday night and came away impressed.

Aguirre scored 31 points as the Mavericks came back from a 13-point first-half deficit to beat the Clippers, 97-87, before 16,785 fans at Reunion Arena.

The 6-foot 6-inch forward, down to 221 pounds this season, is off to a fine start.

“I’d have been a lot better player earlier if I had started thinking about my weight,” Aguirre said.

He has scored 30 or more points three times in seven games this season. He had a season-high 35 points in the Mavericks’ last game, a 127-116 win over Portland Saturday night. And he has been the team’s leading scorer in six games this season.

He is the latest National Basketball Assn. star to go on a summer conditioning program.

“I’m a lot quicker and I feel a lot better,” Aguirre said. “I’m the thinnest I’ve been since I’ve been in the league.

“My concern was being able to get out on the fast break. The way I was last year, there was no way I could sustain that running. I went through a lot of testing to find my ideal body weight.”

But instead of joining Overeaters Anonymous, he hired a cook.

“I hired Camelia Johnson,” Aguirre said. “She totally takes care of me and cooks three meals a day. That way I don’t get tempted. I can’t be fooling around the kitchen late at night getting creampuffs.”

If it hadn’t been for Aguirre and teammates Rolando Blackman (19 points), Derek Harper (16 points 9 assists), Roy Tarpley (16 rebounds, 8 points) and James Donaldson (14 rebounds, 8 points) the Clippers might have broken their streak of 21 straight road losses dating back to last season.

But Reggie Williams and Joe Wolf, the Clipper rookies who were assigned to guard Aguirre, couldn’t keep him in check.

“Mark Aguirre kills everyone,” Clipper Coach Gene Shue said. “Reggie and Joe Wolf played him tougher than hell.”

Said Williams, after his first game against Aguirre: “He’s tough and he’s smart. He’s a cleaver player and he does a lot of things with his body and gets away with it.”

Wolf on Aguirre: “He’s a strong inside player with a nice touch around the basket. It’s a learning process every time I go out.”

Aguirre, who has been maligned for his lack of defense, also did a pretty good job of checking Williams. Reggie, who exploded for 33 points in Tuesday night’s one-point overtime loss at San Antonio, scored 8 points in 32 minutes against Dallas.

“Maybe I just don’t get the credit for playing defense that I deserve,” Aguirre said. “But I think Reggie is going to be a (good) player once he learns the league.”

At the outset, the Mavericks seemed to be thinking past the Clippers to Friday night’s game against the Lakers at the Forum.

Los Angeles was ahead, 30-20, at the end of the first period and still led, 50-43, at halftime. The Clippers shot 61.5% in the first half, and they did a good job of stopping Dallas’ offense, forcing the Mavericks to shoot just 36.7%.

Forward Michael Cage, who wound up with 24 points and 10 rebounds, led the Clippers with 16 first-half points.

“People have will really have to be concerned about them,” Aguirre said of the Clippers. “This year they’re a team with substance and a little guidance and direction and they show it on the floor. They play a lot tougher than last year.”

But the Mavericks dug themselves out of the hole in the second half.

The Clippers, with five rookies on their roster, didn’t have the experience to sustain the momentum they built up in the first half.

Dallas, with Aguirre scoring nine third-quarter points, blitzed the Clippers 18-4 at the start of the second half. Los Angeles shot just 30% in the third period.

But the pesky Clippers didn’t quit, and that’s a good sign for Shue, who is trying to rebuild the team from the shambles of last season’s 12-70 record.

Los Angeles fought back to take a 79-78 lead with 7:53 left in the fourth period.

However, Dallas put the game away by scoring seven points in a little over two minutes. Aguirre led the Mavericks with 7 points in the final 7 minutes 45 seconds of the game.

“Our offense just wasn’t there,” said Clipper guard Mike Woodson, who scored 14 points. “They didn’t do anything to take us out of the game, we just didn’t execute.”

However, Shue, who is beginning to sound like a broken record was encouraged by the Clippers’ effort in their second straight loss.

“We had a pretty good offensive effort,” Shue said. “Last night, we scored more than we usually do. Basically we’re not a strong offensive team.

“We had a good chance to win. Usually, in a situation like this after a tough game the night before, you usually get blown out the next night.”

Clipper Notes Perhaps some of of Mark Aguirre’s new eating habits will rub off on Clipper center Benoit Benjamin, who has had a weight problem. Reporters saw three packages of cookies in Benjamin’s bag after the game. “I’m going out with him. Maybe he (Benjamin) can learn before I did,” Aguirre said. . . . The Mavericks’ string of 38 consecutive sellouts ended after they came up 222 tickets short of a full house against the Clippers on a rainy night in Dallas. . . . Maverick guard Brad Davis, who came off the injured list Tuesday, made his season debut against the Clippers. Dallas cut Al Wood and ate his reported $1.3-million contract to make room for Davis. . . . The Clippers end the trip Friday night in Phoenix against the Suns.