Clippers Drop 7th in a Row : Pro basketball: No one is panicking. People are talking optimistically. But the team continues to lose, as it did, 99-90, to the Knicks.

The Clippers, who seemingly will go to any length to lose a game, now find themselves insisting confidence is not wavering, desperation has not set in and an 11-22 record low-lighted by seven consecutive defeats does not mean they are wondering who management will draft in this spring’s lottery.

Sunday night brought no novel finishes. They lost, 99-90, to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. But even as the Clippers matched their longest losing streak of last season, they remained upbeat. These underachievers insist they will overcome.

“It’s frustrating to a certain degree,” said Benoit Benjamin, who tied his season high with 18 rebounds and set a 1990-91 best with eight blocked shots, three at the expense of Kiki Vandeweghe and two against Patrick Ewing. “But we’re not giving up. I don’t think any of the guys will give up. It’s something we’ve got to work our way through. We have been playing good basketball, so it’s only a matter of time before we explode.”

Or implode.

“It’s frustrating,” said Danny Manning, who made nine of 14 shots en route to a team-high 19 points. “Frustrating in the sense that we’ve got to get a win. It’s just a matter of us putting together a whole game.”

And the four consecutive losses to the recent expansion teams?

“I think it hurts. I hate losing, period. The expansion teams have NBA-caliber players, but if we want to be in the playoffs we have to beat those teams.

“We (the players) have talked about it. We’ve just got to go out and play harder.”

So no panic buttons are being pushed, though maybe it’s a good thing none are around, just in case. Coach Mike Schuler has lost sleep. He took advantage of additional hours awake to consider lineup changes before sticking with the expected, Manning having stepped in for Charles Smith, who did not dress because of a sprained left knee.

“I gave that a little thought as we were flying over here,” said Schuler, who in 33 games has gone from a coach with a .602 winning percentage to one with a .566. “But I looked at what some of the guys have done, their statistics since the start of this trip. It’s kind of hard to single one, two guys out. . . . I don’t think I can go up up to anybody, per se , and say, ‘You sit down because you caused this to happen.’

“As I told the team, we will break out of this when we get 48 consistent, intelligent minutes from everybody. We get some good spurts, but spurts don’t win games. We came out and started well, but it’s like we can’t stand prosperity.

“But are we trying? Hell, yes. Am I frustrated? More than you can imagine.”

The Clippers led with 8 1/2 minutes to play in the second quarter, but the Knicks had built a 53-41 advantage by halftime. New York, struggling itself, went up 80-59 with 2:44 left in the third.

Ewing had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, but he made only nine of 21 shots, missing a flurry of short baseline jump shots. Charles Oakley added 14 points and 15 rebounds.

Clipper Notes

There has been no decision on who will replace Bob Steele as the main negotiator for player contracts, but his resignation Friday as chief executive officer of the Sterling Corporation, the team’s parent company, to become a vice president for PepsiCo comes at what could become an important time for the Clippers. The obvious case regards center Benoit Benjamin. He is due to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, so the Clippers would most likely have to sign him to have any hope of getting something substantial in return if they decide to trade him before the Feb. 21 deadline. As for Steele’s replacement, general counsel Alan Rothenberg, once the team president and top negotiator, and executive vice president for business Andy Roeser, who has done the contracts for second-round draft picks and free agents, are the most obvious choices, either alone or in tandem. Or, owner Donald T. Sterling could decide to go with a new face, such as one of the lawyers from his corporation.

The injury to Charles Smith, suffered when he landed awkwardly during the third quarter of Saturday’s loss at Charlotte, is not believed to be serious. He will have at least one more day to rest it, because the Clippers travel today to Indiana before playing the Pacers Tuesday. . . . Danny Manning on the trade rumors that have surrounded him for weeks: “I’m at the point now where I just play and make a contribution. I try not to think about it. . . . I just want to play. If I get traded, I get traded. If I’m here, I’m here.”