Manning Fits Right In Coming Off Bench : Clippers: Former No. 1 draft choice, saying he’s comfortable in new role, helps team defeat the Mavericks, 98-90.

Toward the end of his second season in the NBA, Danny Manning has found a home. It’s just not where anyone expected.

From No. 1 draft choice, he became a rookie. From there, injured. From there, a very successful comeback. From there . . .

The bench?

Yes, but only in the kindest sense. They give awards for this kind of thing now, the best sixth man, and some, such as Detroit’s Dennis Rodman, made a name for themselves that way. Manning had an identity before, but he has made something out of this, too. He has made the Clippers better.

“He is a very good team player,” Coach Don Casey said Tuesday night at the Sports Arena, where the Clippers came from 18 points down to defeat Dallas, 98-90, before an announced crowd of 13,391. Manning scored 14 points.

“He’s all about winning. If he wants to be a sixth man, he can be a very good sixth man. His whole game is making strides.”

Against the Mavericks, Manning came off the bench for the 13th time in the last 19 games. A star and a reserve at the same time. A sub is born.

He may not be a lifer in this role, but it’s working for now. Manning, who moved to the bench in favor of Ken Norman without complaint, is in his best stretch of the season, perhaps of his 92-game fractured pro career. Statistics and Manning agree.

“I feel good about the way I’m playing,” he said. “To tell you the truth, I’m just happy to be back on the court playing in the NBA, whether it’s as a starter or coming off the bench.

“I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with it. The main difference to me is coming off the bench you play in spurts. Not only with the minutes--that’s a given--but certainly with scoring and defense you’re playing in spurts. It seems like everything happens so fast. When I’m on the court, I’m looking to make some kind of surge.”

The Clippers scored only 36 points against Dallas in the first half and trailed by 14, shooting 38.9% in the process. The deficit reached 18 in the third quarter, 56-38.

A fourth-quarter rally brought them within 76-70 after Norman made two free throws with 9:41 remaining. After Winston Garland swished three-point baskets on back-to-back possessions, the second one prompting a Maverick timeout with 7:54 to play, the Clippers trailed by only 78-76.

After tying the score, 78-78, and then falling behind again, they took the lead when Tom Garrick whipped a pass underneath to Benoit Benjamin, whose dunk with 5:09 to play put the Clippers ahead, 82-80.

The Mavericks were never closer than two the rest of the way as the Clippers improved to 30-47. It’s the first time won 30 since going 32-50 in 1985-86, their second season in Los Angeles.

“We really struggled in the first half, a lot of that was due to them (the Mavericks) being a good defensive team,” Casey said after the Clippers outscored Dallas, 34-16, in the fourth quarter. “We just sort of reviewed things at halftime. It was no rampage, just to reassure them that things were all right.”

Garrick’s 17 points led the Clippers. Benjamin had 16 points and 14 rebounds, and 11 of Garland’s 14 points came in the fourth quarter.

Derek Harper led Dallas with 30 points. Dallas’ Roy Tarpley, returning from a two-game suspension that included a negative drug test, played as expected but did not start. He had 16 rebounds and six points in 37 minutes.