Clipper Comeback Falls Short : Pro basketball: They rally from 26 points behind in the second quarter to six near the end but lose to Hawks, 120-107.

The pendulum swung the other way Wednesday night, when the Clippers, a couple of days removed from blowing a 15-point lead to Miami, came back to make things tough against, of all things, a good team.

Down by 26 points in the second quarter, they drew within six in the third against the Atlanta Hawks. But when opportunity knocked, the Clippers were left on the porch as 120-107 losers at the Omni.

“When we got within six, we should have started to work it around and get good shots,” said Charles Smith, who returned to action after missing two games and led the Clippers with 23 points and 11 rebounds. “But they baited us to take jump shots. . . . We definitely--no matter if they were trying to get us to take jumpers or not--should try to take it to the basket, try to create more things. But I think that’s the last time you’ll see that.”

The Clippers can only hope. They have lost four in a row, nine of 10 and 11 of 13. Atlanta has won 12 of 15.

The game had all the early signs of a rout. The Hawks fell behind, 23-16, but reeled off a 48-15 response that buried the Clippers--at least for a while.

Opening a seven-game trip, they trailed, 64-38, 1:53 before halftime. Respectability in this setting came in the form of four baskets to head into the intermission down 64-46.

The Clippers didn’t stop there. Midway through the third quarter, starting when Atlanta took a 79-58 advantage, they had a 20-7 charge to close within 86-78. The fourth opened with the Clippers scoring first to pull within six.

“We relaxed,” said Hawk Dominique Wilkins, who had 35 points and 16 rebounds, his third consecutive game of 30 points or more. “We threw the ball all over the place and gave them a chance. But you’ve got to give them credit. They hit a couple shots, got on a roll and got some confidence.”

Said Clipper Coach Mike Schuler: “We started making shots, and when we make shots it invigorates them. It excites them. . . . Like a lot of teams, they equate everything to how many points they score and how many shots they make.”

But the Clippers (11-19) could get no closer. The last six-point margin was 100-94 with 4:08 remaining.

“We came out and I thought we were really ready to play,” Schuler said. “We got a nice start, and things were cooking pretty good. We were active offensively and defensively, and all of a sudden we just hit a little bit of a wall and got to not playing hard at either end of the court.”

The bench deserves much of the credit for the comeback. Benoit Benjamin played only five minutes the second half, foul-plagued Gary Grant six and Jeff Martin four.

The benefactors: Winston Garland (who played 20 of his 31 minutes the final two quarters), Tom Garrick (18 of his 23) and Mike Smrek. Smrek played only 10 minutes--eight in the second half--before fouling out with 3:56 remaining, but his presence was most notable because it put a little-used player in during a crucial time while Benjamin rode the bench.