Clippers Try to Defend Shue, but Can’t Stop the Mavericks, 106-98

The Clippers came to the defense of Coach Gene Shue, who was told by owner Donald Sterling that his beleaguered basketball team must show significant progress in the last month of the season in order to keep his job.

Shue refused further comment on the subject, but his players offered their opinions.

“He (Sterling) is the boss, and he’s entitled to make those types of statements,” Clipper captain Mike Woodson said. “I think we’re playing better, but the bottom line is that we have to win.”

Said forward Michael Cage: “I think he (Shue) has done a great job under the circumstances. I think we’ve improved and are going in the right direction.

“I was surprised (at Sterling’s comments). I can’t see a coaching change. It’s coming at a tough time because we’ve been struggling. We’ve made progress under tough circumstances. Gene has never had everyone healthy. We’re still fighting a stigma with this team.”

Said injured guard Norm Nixon: “If I was the owner and my team was 12-49, I’d be upset too. But I don’t think anybody is going to turn this team around in a year.”

The Clippers are 12-50, and Shue could be out of a job if the Clippers continue to play as they did Friday night, when they lost to the Dallas Mavericks, 106-98, at the Sports Arena. It was the Clippers’ 10th defeat in a row and their 10th straight loss to Dallas.

Roy Tarpley, starting in place of All-Star forward Mark Aguirre, who was sidelined with a bruised thigh, led the Mavericks with 25 points and 21 rebounds in 42 minutes.

“Tarpley was unbelievable,” Shue said. “We couldn’t contain him.”

Said Tarpley: “I started off a little slow but eventually fell into a rhythm.”

Forward Sam Perkins added 20 points for Dallas (43-20), and guard Rolando Blackman scored 18. Guard Detlef Schrempf came off the bench to score 16.

Woodson led the Clippers with 20 points, and rookie forward Ken Norman added 18 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Center Benoit Benjamin had 15 points and 8 rebounds. Benjamin, however, had to leave the game in the final quarter, suffering from tendinitis in his left knee.

John MacLeod, coach of the Mavericks, thinks Shue is doing a good job with a mediocre team.

“You’ve got to give Gene Shue credit, considering all the injuries they’ve had,” MacLeod said. “I think it’s a remarkable accomplishment to have them as competitive as they are. It’s a tribute to Gene Shue’s ability as a coach.

“If they don’t have anybody hurt, they’re a good team. You can be a Houdini, but you can’t beat the good teams consistently.”

The Clippers, who trailed by as many as 17 points, rallied in the final quarter as Woodson and Larry Drew sank three-pointers. But it was too little too late, and the Clippers wound up losing for the 24th time in their last 26 games.

“I would just as soon drop all that,” Shue said of the Sterling controversy. “We’re very anxious to do the best we can. That matter is closed.”

Shue unveiled a new offense against the Mavericks. The Clippers, the only National Basketball Assn. team that averages under 100 points a game, junked their old offense during a three-game trip earlier this week and inserted a triangle offense in which center Benjamin plays the high post and forwards Norman, Michael Cage and Earl Cureton post down low under the basket.

The new offense worked well in the early going against Dallas as the Clippers took a 19-10 lead with 3:13 remaining in the first quarter, but the Mavericks then went on a 16-0 run to take command.

Clipper Notes

Clipper rookie swingman Reggie Williams, who is out for the season with a sprained left knee, was involved in a minor auto accident on his way to Friday night’s game. Williams was not hurt, but he didn’t make it to the Sports Arena. . . . Michael Cage, the NBA’s third-leading rebounder, returned after missing almost two weeks because of a bout with pneumonia. Cage, who said he spent last week in bed, lost 8 pounds while he was sick and now weighs 232 pounds. He had 9 points and 5 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. . . . The addition of Cage gave the undermanned Clippers 10 healthy players going into the game. They haven’t fielded a team of 12 players for 10 games.

Steve Burtt, a 6-foot 2-inch guard who signed a 10-day contract with the Clippers, entered the game with 1:57 left in the first half and sank his first shot. . . . Guard Quintin Dailey sat out his eighth straight game with a sore right hamstring. He hopes to return next week. The Clippers hope that forward Joe Wolf, who is on the injured list with a sprained right knee, will be back in a week. Wolf has missed the last nine games. . . . General Manager Elgin Baylor released a statement before the game, saying that the club intends to keep its two first-round draft picks this season. The Clippers will have two of the first seven picks in the NBA draft next June. “The only way we would consider trading one of our two first-round picks would be if we were offered a superstar like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley or Akeem Olajuwon,” Baylor said. . . . The Clippers will play the Sacramento Kings Sunday night at 7 at the Sports Arena.