Clippers Finally Get Into Gear, 119-91

The Clippers’ offense, which grinded gears to an average of 91.3 points the last three games, needed an oil job before hitting the road. The Orlando Magic obliged like an 18-wheeler loaded with 30 weight.

This was indeed a Clipper team in motion, and not as slow as recent showings. Having begun Sunday by putting leading scorer Ken Norman on the injured list, because of a severely sprained left ankle, and activating Danny Manning, they finished by coasting past Orlando, 119-91, before an announced crowd of 10,691 at the Sports Arena.

Los Angeles will miss these Magic. The Lakers beat them by 26 points Saturday night at the Forum, and the Clippers, winners for the third time in four games, established a season-high for points and broke triple figures for the first time since an overtime loss Nov. 16 at Phoenix.

“We played awfully well tonight,” Coach Mike Schuler said. “We were very good defensively. All our offense was generated by the defense.”

Manning played 15 minutes in his return, making two of seven shots. Benoit Benjamin (18 points, 18 rebounds) and Charles Smith (21 points) led the way as the Clippers improved to 6-6.

The decision to sit Norman for at least five games, the minimum, was not unanimous. His sights were on returning for the Dec. 1 game at Denver, the final game of the three-game trip that begins Tuesday at Houston.

But others with a say, while agreeing significant improvement has been made since Norman landed on the foot of New Jersey’s Jack Haley in the first quarter of Wednesday game, voted otherwise. They won.

“When Elgin (Baylor, general manager) and I talked Friday, we weren’t going to do it,” said Norman, averaging 21.8 points and 8.1 rebounds and shooting 51.4%. “That’s what I wanted. But he called me (Sunday) morning and said they were going to put me on the list. I’m very much against it, but they’re the boss. I think I’ll be ready before my time span (on the injured list) is up. I’m feeling a lot better.

“Maybe it’s for the best. I didn’t rest my groin injury last year and it bothered me all season and into the summer. I still have to tape it. . . . But it’s very depressing not being able to practice.”

While the Clippers put one forward on the injured list and got another off, this was not a straight-up switch because Manning is not in top shape. The best cure for tendinitis is rest, so he was not able to run to keep in conditioning, using mainly a stationary bicycle for that. During a 70-minute practice Saturday, he appeared winded.

Manning will be limited to about 15 minutes per game for an indefinite number of games. He also had time restrictions while coming back from surgery on the same knee last season.

“You really have to say he hasn’t played for almost two months, in no consistent nature,” Coach Mike Schuler said. “But he knows everything we are doing, so that’s not going to be a problem at all. He looked good (Saturday).”

Said Manning: “I’m always going to have problems with tendinitis. When I take a break, I have to work my way back into playing. I even have to do that during the summer, when I take any kind of layoff.”

Clipper Notes

The earliest Ken Norman could return is Dec. 2 against Minnesota at the Sports Arena. . . . For the second game in a row, Coach Mike Schuler opened with a three-guard lineup: Bo Kimble, Winston Garland and Gary Grant, joined by Charles Smith and Benoit Benjamin. . . . With the injury to Norman, Grant is the only Clipper to start every game. Only Grant, Garland, Tom Garrick and Loy Vaught have played in all 12.