Ponder This One: Benjamin an All-Star? : Clippers: Even his former coach, Don Chaney, says L.A. center deserves the honor after his 19 rebounds in a 107-96 loss to the Rockets.

The world can no longer hide from the notion. Time to face reality. It can happen.

Benoit Benjamin in the all-star game.

If mainly by attrition and the process of elimination, neatly timed with his own bulging statistics, this could be the season the word association once thought to be impossible takes it on the chin: Benoit Benjamin, all-star.

“You couldn’t say that in the same sentence before, no,” said Rocket Coach Don Chaney, Benjamin’s former coach with the Clippers.

But by grabbing another 19 rebounds and adding 17 points in the Clippers’ 107-96 loss to Houston Saturday night at the Summit, Benjamin continues to build a case. At the very least, he will force coaches to consider him when they vote on reserves for the Western Conference all-star team for the Feb. 10 game at Charlotte, N.C.

San Antonio’s David Robinson will start after winning the fan voting that ended Saturday. Akeem Olajuwon of the Rockets is sidelined until at least early March with an eye injury. Things get a little dry from there.

Blair Rasmussen of Denver is the only other Western Conference center in the top 10 in rebounding and blocked shots, but Benjamin, at 12.5 and 2.41, respectively, has better numbers. Portland’s Kevin Duckworth will get some attention. Suddenly, the idea that one of the game’s most maligned, enigmatic players could reach the showcase event becomes realistic.

“The way he’s playing now, I think he deserves to be an all-star,” Chaney said after the Rockets beat the Clippers for the 10th consecutive time here. “He is putting up consistently good stats. I think Ben has turned the corner. When I had him, he was young and immature. But I think he has made the turn into adulthood.”

Trying to prove, with the blessing of Clipper hierarchy, that he can play at 265-270 pounds, about 10 or 15 more than his highest weight his first five years in the pros, the scales are tipping in Benjamin’s favor. Consider his ongoing rebounding streak: 15 at Charlotte, 18 at New York, 20 at Indiana, 19 at Washington, 20 at Boston, 19 in overtime against Houston, 15 against Washington, 11 at Dallas in overtime and 19 more against the Rockets.

The only thing keeping him out of the top 10 is enough games or total rebounds, because he missed 11 games with a separated right shoulder and sore gums after having his wisdom teeth removed. Otherwise, his 12.5 rebounds per game would be fourth behind Olajuwon, Robinson and Karl Malone of Utah.

“It’s always been a goal of mine, to be an all-star-caliber player,” Benjamin said. “I want to help the team win, but it would be great. I think I’ve had a pretty good year, and that would be icing on the cake as far as I’m concerned.

“The thought has crossed my mind. I feel I have a pretty good chance at it this year. With Akeem out, that really gives me a better chance to make it. I just want to keep it in perspective. I don’t want to get my hopes up and then be disappointed.”

Benjamin had 11 rebounds in the first half, which pretty much mirrored the play of all the Clippers, who shot 56.1% and led, 56-53. From there, they saw a lot of the Rockets’ afterburners.

Houston, which improved to 3-5 without Olajuwon, used a 16-6 run to turn a 74-72 lead with 3:46 left in the third quarter into 90-78 with 8:33 remaining in the game. When the Clippers drew back within eight not long after, the Rockets put together a 9-1 run for an insurmountable 99-83 cushion with 4:21 to play.

“If we would have come out in the second half and really attacked, I thought we could have won the game,” Coach Mike Schuler said after the Clippers dropped to 14-26, three fewer victories than they had at the same stage last year. “But they came out in the second half and were the aggressors. . . . They made more of an effort.”

It showed in rebounding, where Houston had 27 second-chance points and 19 offensive rebounds. Eight belonged to Larry Smith, giving him 20 for the night and making Olajuwon’s replacement only the sixth person since 1984-85 to reach that plateau in back-to-back games.

“He deserves it,” Chaney said of Smith, who averaged about 15 minutes a game before Olajuwon went out and now has eight consecutive double-figure rebound games. “He doesn’t get a lot of ink. He’s a role player, but you need that type of player to win games.”