Smith Is Halfway Back : Clippers: He shows that his game, at least for now, is defense in a 92-81 victory over Spurs.

The three round scars on his surgically repaired right knee, each about the width of a pencil, were kept from view by a foam rubber sleeve. Hiding emotions Wednesday night, that was another matter.

Charles Smith did his best to not let them spill out in front of 11,393 fans at the Sports Arena. But before his first game of the season following Oct. 19 arthroscopic surgery, and after his six blocked shots helped the Clippers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 92-81, evidence was everywhere.

“Just having him back, being able to see him back on the floor, you could see what it meant to him,” said Olden Polynice, who scored 13 of his 15 points in the decisive fourth quarter, when the Clippers outscored the Midwest Division leaders, 31-18. “I’m not surprised he missed all those shots. We were like, ‘You need to take a sedative.’ Before the game, he was running around acting all crazy. It was like, ‘Chill.’ ”

Smith, returning without restrictions on playing time, came off the bench and played 25 minutes. He made only four of 12 shots en route to 15 points.

Just try to tell him there was anything resembling a downer to this night.

“When Mike (Schuler) said, ‘Charles, go in,’ I took a deep breath,” said Smith, who also had six rebounds to go with the six blocks. “I heard the fans when I stood up off the bench, and they gave me the best support since I have been here. My heart was pounding and the adrenaline was going. I just tried to stay calm and relaxed about the whole situation. But it wasn’t easy.”

The impact of his return didn’t strike Smith until he drove to the Sports Arena. Then, the deep thoughts hit in a big way--the notion of playing his first game since the Oct. 16 exhibition at Atlanta and the first since the death of his father.

“This has been the worst month and a half of my life,” he said before the game. “I went through a lot of personal problems and a lot of physical problems. I’m just glad to put the uniform on and get back on the court. This was the longest ride I’ve ever had to the arena, thinking about what I have been through.”

Almost at the same instant, however, he spoke of keeping the night in perspective. Appearing upbeat and sporting a beard for the first time, Smith insisted there was no added pressure to his return because of the Clippers’ recent struggles.

And concerns about the strength of the knee?

About as distant as his last game at the Sports Arena, last spring.

“I’m so confident in my knee and my ability right now,” Smith said. “It doesn’t matter if I have a good game or a bad game, because I’m confident I’m going to have a good year.”

He will start it by concentrating on defense. That was Smith’s plan going in, and it showed.

Soon after entering to a loud ovation with 4:28 to play in the first quarter, he blocked a shot by Sean Elliott. Just before the end of the quarter, Willie Anderson drove the left baseline and got open, only to have his attempt swatted, picked up by the Clippers (8-10) and converted into a 28-16 lead.

Come the second quarter, the blocks got more impressive: a face-to-face rejection on David Robinson’s turn-around baseline jump shot. One more gave Smith four at halftime, by which time the Clippers had a 41-36 lead despite shooting only 19% (four of 21) and scoring a season-low 12 points the second quarter.

The 36 points for a half was three better than the Spurs’ franchise record, NBA or American Basketball Assn. Still, they had a 63-61 lead by the end of the third quarter, even though Robinson made only five of his first 15 shots.

Robinson had problems on offense, again. In his foul-plagued two visits to the Sports Arena last season, the all-star center made a combined five of 22 shots, 20 points and 12 rebounds. This time, he had 15 rebounds and 23 points and eight blocks but went only eight of 20 from the field.

Clipper Notes

Bo Kimble took another step toward his return from a stress reaction in his left foot Tuesday, when he took part in a full practice with Clipper teammates for the first time this season, including training camp. Kimble did not have any pain. . . . LeRon Ellis skipped the game because of flu.