Clippers Defeat a Team of Means by No Means : Pro basketball: Garland is the new man at the point in 119-109 victory. Kings’ losing streak reaches 34 games.

The Clippers roll on, but with a different set of wheels, officially now.

In as the starting point guard is Winston Garland. Out is Gary Grant, not to mention Coach Mike Schuler’s season-long policy that an incumbent can’t lose his job because of injury.

The result was that the Clippers continued their best stretch in 14 months, the latest installment being Sunday’s 119-109 victory over Sacramento at the Sports Arena as the Kings tied an NBA record with their 34th consecutive road defeat.

House rules are one things, but wins are another. By matching last season’s total of 30 victories with seven games remaining and a good chance to break the all-time Los Angeles Clipper record of 32, they also went to 8-2 with Garland teamed with Ron Harper, Olden Polynice, Charles Smith and Danny Manning in the opening five.

“I’ll take a hard look before I change the lineup,” is how Schuler put it before the game, leaning while still trying to sound noncommittal on the matter of Garland and Grant.

After Grant became the only guard not to see action, Schuler seemed far more certain.

“Was I reluctant to use him?” Schuler said. “I wouldn’t say that. But we’ve got a nice rhythm, a nice flow. My approach in the past, I’ll just never take it again.”

Grant couldn’t remember the last time he was held out on a coach’s decision. But, suiting up for the first time after undergoing arthroscopic surgery March 28 to have loose cartilage removed from his right knee, he also still feels twinges from the joint “every so often” and said it had stiffened up by the fourth quarter so much that he asked assistant Coach Alvin Gentry not to play him.

He hasn’t discarded the idea of going on the injured list. Meanwhile, the Clippers continue to win with his former backup, Sunday marking the seventh victory in eight tries.

Sacramento is still waiting for a victory away from home. The Kings have lost 37 of 38 on the road this season, the lone win coming Nov. 20 at Washington, and now they’re 1A in the record book with New Jersey.

“It’s too bad a great bunch of kids has to go through this stuff,” Coach Dick Motta said. “Every time bad things happen, you get better. One day, these guys will be better for it.”

So what has been the problem?

“The problem is the other team scores more points than us every time.”

Clipper Notes

Bo Kimble, who didn’t play, is scheduled to visit team physician Tony Daly today to have his strained right groin examined. . . . Charles Smith led the Clippers with 30 points and nine rebounds, going 10 of 13 from the field and 10 of 10 from the line. Ron Harper also had 30 points. Antoine Carr scored 32 for the Kings, who lost despite shooting 51.2% and committing only 12 turnovers.