Clippers Trim Laker Lead to Half-Game, 119-107

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a man of giant steps, needed little more than a hop, skip and a jump to reach the 23rd stop on his farewell tour, the Sports Arena, across town from his Laker home.

Once there, he got a 3 1/2-minute standing ovation during halftime ceremonies, a cake one day early for his 42nd birthday, and still more retirement gifts.

Then the Clippers turned it into a surprise party, beating the Lakers with shocking ease, 119-107, Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 15,352.

The Victory Tour this isn’t. The loss, as Charles Smith scored 26 points, Gary Grant had 25 points and 15 assists, and Ken Norman and Benoit Benjamin got 24 points each, dropped the Lakers’ record to 11-12 in games at which Abdul-Jabbar has been honored.

More important, the defeat, combined with Phoenix’s victory over San Antonio, cut the Laker lead in the Pacific Division to a half-game. The Laker magic number to clinch their eighth straight division title holds at five.

“Maybe we aren’t used to it,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said of the close race, after losing to the Clippers for the first time in nine games. “Maybe they (the Laker players) think they’re nine games ahead like last year.

“I told them last night how Phoenix can not catch us. But we can back up to them. It could happen.

“We’ve got to win our next three games at home, period. Because I don’t think Phoenix will lose again.”

The Suns (52-26) finish the regular season with home games against Sacramento and Houston and at San Antonio. They also have a makeup game against the Heat that was canceled in January due to the Miami riots.

The Lakers (52-25), who got 26 points and 13 assists from Magic Johnson and 25 points from James Worthy, close out against Miami, Denver, Sacramento and Seattle at the Forum and against Portland on the road.

“Every game now for us is like a playoff game,” Johnson said. “I haven’t been accustomed to it lately. It concerns me, because we have to win all our games. My only concern is that everybody is ready to play every game.”

The Clippers (20-58, including wins in nine of their last 18 games) led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter. The Lakers cut that to six, 103-97, with 6:03 to play, but the Clippers surged back, getting consecutive baskets that prompted Riley to take a timeout.

The Lakers were never in it again.

“They bent, but they didn’t break,” Clipper Coach Don Casey said of his players. “They’re developing into a single group of players. They’re developing character.”

Games like this will do that for you.

Said second-year forward Norman, who had 12 rebounds to go with his 24 points and did most of his scoring inside: “That’s definitely the biggest win of my professional career.”

The Lakers won the first five meetings of the season by an average of 16.2 points, including a 133-116 blowout last Monday night at the Forum. Because of injuries and illness, the Clippers had only 10 players available that night.

Saturday, the Clippers had a full compliment of 12 dressed for the first time since March 31, and they parlayed that unique occurence into another--a close game.

It was 61-61 at halftime, and the Clippers never trailed by more than four points in the first quarter. The largest Laker deficit was also four.

Benjamin, who missed the last Laker game with a bad case of hives, made all five of his shots in the first half and his first two attempts of the second. The latter were part of a 13-2 run by the Clippers to open the third quarter that forced Riley to call a timeout with 9:18 to play and his team trailing by 11, 74-63.

The Clipper lead reached 13 points, 78-65, on a pair of Grant free throws. They followed a foul by Tony Campbell that put the Clippers into the bonus with 7:25 still to play in the third quarter.

The Clippers took advantage at the line all night, making 27 of 31 free throws.

Basketball Notes

The Clippers staged a 15-minute halftime tribute to retiring Laker center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who turns 42 today. And it had a distinctly California theme. After a standing ovation that lasted 2:50, the Clippers presented Abdul-Jabbar with a beach umbrella in the colors of the UCLA Bruins, Milwaukee Bucks and the Lakers. Abdul-Jabbar also was given a size 17 wetsuit, a 10-foot, 4-inch custom made surfboard in purple and gold, and tinted goggles. Mike Love of the Beach Boys led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” as a cake with 42 candles was wheeled onto the court. Donald T. Sterling, the Clipper owner, also donated a “sizable” sum to the UCLA scholarship fund. Abdul-Jabbar, through sponsor L.A. Gear, also donated $1,000 to the scholarship fund. “It’s very tough to find a place to begin,” Abdul-Jabbar told the crowd. “I’ve spent a lot of time here, from 1966 when I first played against SC to tonight. It’s very nice to share the moment.” Abdul-Jabbar also complimented Los Angeles fans for supporting the Clippers and Sterling for keeping them in Southern California. “I can remember when this franchise was in Buffalo and it was very depressing to play there because of the snow. When they moved to California (San Diego, first), I was the happiest man,” he said.