Norman Sparks Clipper Rally : Pro basketball: After leading at halftime, Sacramento scores only 34 points in second half and loses, 90-80.

Ken Norman scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half and Bo Kimble got 14 of his 22 over the final two quarters as the Clippers overcame a sluggish offensive performance to beat the Sacramento Kings, 90-80, Friday night in the season opener before 12,845 at the Sports Arena.

The Clippers led by only five, 66-61, to open the fourth quarter, but pushed the advantage to 84-72 with 3:38 to play, with Kimble and Norman scoring 14 of the 18 points during the run.

Wayman Tisdale scored 24 to lead the Kings, who had only 34 points in the second half.

The lead-in to the opener didn’t exactly fit the script, this being the most anticipated season in Clipper history.

First, Danny Manning was declared out for the first game and maybe the second, Sunday against Golden State, because of tendinitis in his right knee.

Then Thursday, Benoit Benjamin suffered what originally was thought to be a strained muscle in his right shoulder.

Friday morning, it was announced the starting center actually separated his shoulder, won’t play against the Kings, and is day-to-day from there.

So what did it take to turn the emotional tide?

Nothing more than the lineups being announced.

Kimble, given the start at shooting guard despite having made only 34% of his shots in the eight exhibition games, was given a semi-standing ovation by the crowd. The former Loyola Marymount star said before he was not nervous, but he had made preparations for a more dramatic moment, just in case.

Kimble made four of seven attempts in the first half--a few long-range bombs that swished, a few bad misses.

Kimble didn’t go to the line in the first half, so his much-publicized left-handed shot, a tribute to close friend Hank Gathers, had to wait until the second half.

A natural right-hander, he hadn’t shot a lefty since the NCAA tournament last spring, the first time he used the free throw as a memorial to Gathers, who made the switch to southpaw while playing at Loyola to improve his shooting. Friday afternoon, he took 15 tries as a warmup.

The moment came with 9:33 to play in the third quarter, when he was fouled by Sacramento rookie Lionel Simmons, a high school rival of teammates Kimble and Gathers in Philadelphia.

Kimble didn’t stall for dramatic effect. Looking to convert a three-point play, he made a couple quick bounces and launched the shot, not looking terribly awkward in the process. The shot missed badly, bouncing off the right side off the rim, not that the real point was to get a point.

“I don’t mind the attention put on it because it’s a great thing,” he explained before the game. “It is important to me, and I think it’s important to the fans, too. But if they’re going to put a lot of attention on it, they should realize why it really matters.”

It appeared at the time it might matter in a Clipper victory as Sacramento, the consensus last-place team in the Pacific Division, used a 15-0 run at the end of the first quarter and early parts of the second to take a 46-39 lead at halftime.

The Clippers were clearly struggling in the first half, committing 11 turnovers and shooting just 25%. But Norman and Kimble brought them back in the second half, enabling the Clippers to start the season on a winning note.

Clipper Notes

Chances are good Benoit Benjamin will also miss Sunday’s game, and he could be out as many as seven days. The sixth-year center isn’t even scheduled to be examined again by Dr. Tony Daly, the Clipper team physician, until Monday. “He feels good about doing something Sunday,” trainer Keith Jones said before the game. “That’s not out of the question, but it is doubtful. Danny Manning, who is listed as day-to-day, will be checked Sunday.

NBA Commissioner David Stern is expected to attend Sunday’s 6 p.m. game against Golden State. Stern attended the Utah-Phoenix game Friday in Tokyo and will be stopping in Los Angeles on his way back to New York.

Gary Grant has become the second Clipper to change his uniform number for this season, switching from the No. 23 he wore for two seasons to No. 1. “Just trying to so something different,” said Grant, returning after missing a broken ankle Feb. 2 ended his 1989-90 season. “Twenty-three didn’t give me much luck, injury wise.” Ken Norman had already changed from No. 33 to No. 3.

Coach Mike Schuler, on his first game as a head coach since January of 1989: “The feeling I had four years ago (in his debut with Portland) was a great deal more anxiety. It was my first game as an NBA head coach, the chance to do something I’ve dreamed about and worked all my life to accomplish. I know now what to expect.”