Clippers Tie Club Scoring Record in 146-130 Win : Pro basketball: Defense takes night off. Nuggets’ Adams equals NBA mark with nine three-point baskets.

Defense had about as much a place at the Sports Arena Friday night as a layup by Michael Adams. Neither was the play of choice as the Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets, 146-130.

In the game:

--The Clippers tied the franchise record for points: They also scored 146 on April 14, 1984, against Utah.

--Adams tied an NBA record with nine three-point baskets, and then missed four consecutive attempts at the end of the game to break the mark, set against the Clippers last April by Dale Ellis of Seattle. Adams, who finished with 35 points and nine assists, was nine of 20 from long range and three of eight on two-pointers.

--One of four Clippers to score 20 points or more, Olden Polynice had a career-high 30, making 12 of 13 attempts. He also had 14 rebounds.

After giving up 81 points the final two quarters Wednesday against Seattle, a season high for a half, the Clipper defense continued to take a beating. They surrendered 74 in the first half. That it came against the Nuggets providing only mild consolation.

It was the way it happened. Looking to sweep the season series against Denver for the first time, the Clippers took an 18-5 lead and parlayed that into 26-10 by scoring on 12 of their first 14 possessions.

That stood up until the early part of the second quarter. Four Denver baskets in, to be exact, and all were three-point plays--two jumpers by Adams, one by Reggie Williams and a layup-and-free throw by Williams. The Clipper lead became a memory at 46-46.

Los Angeles built another advantage and lost it, going ahead, 56-48, with 6:59 remaining as Polynice made one of his nine shots without a miss in the first half. Caught at 64-64, the Clippers’ final attempt to salvage something resembling a positive note lasted until they took a 72-69 lead, at which point that disappeared, too.

Marcus Liberty’s jumper from the left side followed by Adams’ fifth three-pointer of the half, this one launched from somewhere around Magic Mountain, put the Nuggets ahead, 74-72. It took a layup by Winston Garland with 23 seconds left to get the Clippers even at intermission, even though they shot 54.7%.

Denver had an 82-80 lead when Adams struck again, this time bolder than ever. After he stole the ball from Garland, Adams went downcourt alone, then took another three-point attempt rather than a layup.

Swish.

Even those heroics weren’t enough for the Nuggets, who have the NBA’s worst record at 19-58.

Charles Smith finished with 27 points and Ken Norman had 26 for the Clippers, who improved to 31-47.

Clipper Notes

Charles Smith, his bruised right thigh still hurting, returned to the starting lineup after missing Wednesday’s loss at Seattle. The Clippers dropped to 1-8 in games when Smith doesn’t play, with further evidence of his importance, and versatility, coming all the time. This week, it has been on defense, where the 6-foot-10, 235-pound power forward dropped a weight class and guarded small forwards Lionel Simmons of Sacramento and Dennis Scott of Orlando with success. “I was really anxious to see how he would play the smaller folks,” said Coach Mike Schuler, who got the idea for the experiment when Smith was forced to guard Chris Mullin because of odd matchups late last month at Golden State. “He has done a good job with it. He’s quick enough to stay with the smaller players, and he can be a distraction to them on jump shots. I’m really pleased with how he’s handled it.”

Bo Kimble was, in fact, put on the injured list retroactive to Sunday, as first reported but then contradicted by the Clippers. This means Kimble, closing out his first season with minimal playing time, is eligible to come back Wednesday at Phoenix, but whether he suits up again in 1990-91 may have more to do with the health of teammates than his own rehabilitation from a strained right groin. . . . The Nuggets’ No. 1 draft choice, Chris Jackson, had a soft cast removed from his left foot Friday and was able to do some light running and shooting as he stayed behind in Denver, but no decision will be made until early next week whether he will return this season. Jackson, averaging 20.8 points in his 19 starts and 14.1 overall, had the foot immobilized the previous eight days to alleviate irritation caused by an extra bone around the ankle.