Davis Repeats to Help Nuggets Avoid One : He Scores 26 Points, 20 in Second Half, as Denver Beats Clippers, 114-99

Walter Davis, the Greyhound, hit full stride again Saturday night, just as he did 24 hours earlier. But this time, it paid off.

Davis’ great shooting performance didn’t go for naught this time, not as on Friday night when he could only get the Denver Nuggets close enough to lose to the Clippers by 3 points at the Sports Arena. In the rematch of the home-and-home set on consecutive nights, Davis looked like a carbon copy, but the result wasn’t, as the Nuggets beat the Clippers, 114-99, at McNichols Arena.

Friday, Davis scored 26 points, 20 in the second half. Saturday, he scored 26 points, 20 in the second half.

Friday, Davis hit 11 of 18 shots. Saturday, he hit 12 of 18 shots.

“To me, he’s always been one of the great clutch shooters in the game,” Clipper Coach Gene Shue said. “I’ve seen him hit so many big shots, those same shots he hit tonight.”

The Clippers (8-15), losers in 9 of their last 11 games, were in this one until Davis went on his most impressive run. The Nuggets went right along with him, turning a 69-65 advantage with 5:45 to play in the third quarter into an 81-66 lead with 2:54 remaining.

Davis, a free agent who signed with Denver before this season after playing 11 years with the Phoenix Suns, scored 8 of the points in that 12-1 surge. He made 7 of 9 shots in the third quarter for 14 of the Nuggets’ 30 points.

The Clippers were never closer than 11 again.

“I like the fast-paced game,” said Davis, who came to the right place for that. “My last 4 years in Phoenix, it was all very patterned and slow. Guys on defense were beating me to the ball because they already knew exactly where I was going.”

The only place the 6-foot 6-inch Davis is going these days is up. He is with a team he likes and is getting plenty of playing time off the bench, averaging 17.1 points for the No. 1 scoring team in the National Basketball Assn.

The Clippers, who have lost 10 straight here, are one of his favorite targets. He began the night having bombed them for an average of 21 points and 7.5 assists in his career, even if there have been a few down moments along the way.

“I felt kind of embarrassed after last night,” Davis said. “I thought we were down by 3 (near the end of the game) and we were really down 2, and I was taking all those 3-pointers when I should have been shooting for 2. Doug (Moe, the Denver coach) said don’t worry about it . . . but I wanted to play well to make up for last night.”

He took care of that, and several other Nuggets did their part, too.

Lafayette Lever had his third triple double of the season, with 12 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists. The 18 rebounds by the 6-foot 3-inch guard, who came in averaging a team-leading 8.7 a game, especially hurt the Clippers.

“That killed us,” Shue said.

Michael Adams, who scored 16 points Friday night, had 24 this time, including 5 of 10 3-point attempts. Alex English added 23 points, and, like Davis, center Blair Rasmussen was a force off the bench, contributing 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Danny Manning led the Clippers with 18 points, and Quintin Dailey scored 17.

“We didn’t have the push we had last night,” Shue said. “We just weren’t smooth. At times we played real well, but the Denver defense was so much better.

“Basically, I think we hung in there real well, which is a big improvement. Usually we come to Denver and are out of it quickly.”

Clipper Notes

Norm Nixon stayed behind on the first leg of the 4-game trip because of the tendinitis in his right knee that kept him out of Friday’s game in Los Angeles. Nixon will be re-evaluated when the team returns today, but Coach Gene Shue said there is a possibility that Nixon will be out for the next 3 games, at Golden State, at Houston and at San Antonio. “Basically, I want to give Norm some rest,” Shue said. “He’s had assorted injuries, especially in the knees, and I want to give him a chance to fully recuperate.” With Nixon out, Tom Garrick will back up Gary Grant, with Grant Gondrezick also a possibility.