Harper Shot Is a Winner for Clippers

The ball was supposed to go to one of the guards, Doc Rivers or Ron Harper. That done, nothing else went right.

Except the shot.

Harper got the ball with 11.6 seconds left, then got double-teamed, then lost possession, then got trapped and then launched a shot from the right corner. Then he became the hero when his three-pointer swished with 1.2 seconds to go to give the Clippers an 89-86 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics Sunday night at the Sports Arena.

“Put it this way,” Harper said, smiling. “It wasn’t diagramed. Today is Sunday.”

The SuperSonics wouldn’t have believed it on any day. They took advantage of a 15-point third quarter by the Clippers to erase a 52-42 halftime deficit and close within 67-64, using a 7-2 rally the final 1:32 of the period.

Seattle finally tied the score, 84-84, with 2:09 remaining on two of Ricky Pierce’s 12 fourth-quarter points. The Clippers’ next two possessions resulted in Ken Norman’s first free throw barely ticking the front of the rim and his second bouncing off the heel, and Danny Manning’s jump shot from the left baseline hitting the side of the backboard.

Michael Cage put the SuperSonics ahead for the first time since 35-33 with a over-the-shoulder tip-in of his own miss. But when Rivers connected from 18 feet, the Clippers were even again.

A miss by Gary Payton with 14 seconds to go set the stage for them to win.

In danger of losing their seventh in a row and tying the longest skid of last season, the Clippers called a timeout with 11.6 seconds left; then another, after Manning could not get the ball in from halfcourt.

Harper or Rivers were to rely on their abilities to freelance to create a shot. Harper got the ball after Manning’s cross-court pass, but then got in trouble when Clipper Olden Polynice came out to set a screen, the traffic having suddenly become thick 35 feet out.

“I don’t think he (Harper) wanted the pick,” said Rivers, who replaced Gary Grant as the starting point guard in Coach Mike Schuler’s first lineup change of the season. “Both of us thought we had a better chance of taking it off the dribble.”

With two defenders, Nate McMillan and Benoit Benjamin, in his face, Harper headed along the right sideline and lost control. Benjamin got a hand on the ball, but it rolled through his legs.

Harper recovered, but just in time for a quick shot from the corner, falling away.

“There was no way I could have passed it,” said Harper, who finished with a team-high 20 points. “It had to be a shot. So I just threw it up.”

So he just threw it in.

“I was glad for his sake it went in,” Schuler deadpanned.

Said McMillan: “He is either an unbelievable shooter, or he has a lot of luck.”

Rivers saw the shot go up, but, guarding against the freak chance of Seattle grabbing the rebound and attempting a quick shot, headed back for defense. The roar of the crowd told him the outcome of Harper’s winner.

“A nice sound,” Rivers said.

For the SuperSonics, it was an unusual sight--their first road loss after four consecutive victories and only their second of the season.

Clipper Notes

Charles Smith has targeted the Dec. 4 game against San Antonio, the last of this home stand, for his return from arthroscopic knee surgery. Smith is scheduled to have more tests done Tuesday, but said the right knee is “feeling pretty good,” and that he has not had any swelling. . . . James Edwards sat out because of a deep thigh bruise suffered in a collision with Phoenix’s Dan Majerle. Edwards will not practice today, and no determination will be made on his availability for Tuesday’s Chicago game until that day. . . . Benoit Benjamin had 13 points and 15 rebounds for Seattle and was booed during pregame introductions and every time he touched the ball.