Hawks Ruin Rivers’ Homecoming

No one had to tell Doc Rivers Saturday would be emotional, this being his first trip to the Omni since the trade in June that sent him to the Clippers. But someone should have at least told him how to get around the building.

Unfamiliar with the visitors’ entrance, he was separated from teammates heading into the morning practice while talking to guards, then got lost trying to the find the court.

The Clippers lost their way Saturday night, scoring only one field goal in the final four minutes and failing to score at all in the last 1:16 in a 97-95 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

“He really wanted to win the game, and he really wanted to play well,” Clipper Coach Mike Schuler said of Rivers. “He got one of the two.”

Rivers finished with 20 points, seven assists and five steals in a team-high 37 minutes. With 26 points and nine rebounds from his partner in the backcourt, Ron Harper, the Clippers had a chance to win despite the starting front line going eight of 25 from the field and Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins’ scoring 30 points.

Fittingly, Rivers would play a key role. After taking a 93-92 lead with 2:56 left on two of James Edwards’ nine fourth-quarter points, the Clippers wandered into a maze. Their next points came on two free throws by Harper with 1:17 to play, cutting the Hawks’ advantage to 97-95.

Atlanta failed to score on its final two trips, one of which ended when Edwards blocked Blair Rasmussen’s shot on the right perimeter. That gave the Clippers possession with 16 seconds remaining.

They called time out and decided on a play in which the first option was to get the ball to Charles Smith. That wasn’t available, so Harper dribbled toward the right baseline. He stopped and, noticing Rivers open in the left flat, whipped a cross-court pass that took off like a rising fastball.

Rivers jumped to catch it, but his momentum began carrying him out of bounds. With the clock running down and no quick solutions handy, he simply tried the save the ball. He did, but tossed it right to the Hawks’ Morlon Wiley with about two seconds left.

“When Harp released it, it was great because I was wide open,” Rivers said. “I would have had a three (-point shot). But the ball sailed on me. I was at first thinking about calling a timeout, but no ref would give it to you because of the momentum carrying you out of bounds.

“Coming back here, it was an emotional and really big game for me. I really wanted to win this game. It hurts me that we didn’t, but you move on and keep playing. I’m happy that (the Hawks) are doing well. I just wish it wasn’t tonight.”

That play and the outcome were only disappointments for Rivers. The moment he entered the building for the game, fans, janitors, security, and former teammates from his eight years with the Hawks were shouting their hellos.

Rivers, doing nothing to minimize this as simply another game, said he was nervous. At least until the first shot. From there, nervousness was converted into activity.

“He didn’t play nervous to me,” Edwards said. “Hitting the threes and all that?”

Added Wilkins, a teammate for all Rivers’ seasons here: “Nervous he was not. More like eager to get it going. He played great. It was good to see him play well. I just didn’t want to see him win.”

Clipper Notes

Olden Polynice played 36 minutes and backup James Edwards went only 19, but that was a switch. In the previous two games, Edwards played at least 10 minutes more than Polynice, making it three of the last five outings they had at least split time. Edwards played the entire fourth quarter and overtime Thursday at Charlotte. “I think he’d probably like to play more, but he is not a Lone Ranger there,” Coach Mike Schuler said of Polynice. “There are 10 guys who would like to play more, so he doesn’t have a patent on that.” Schuler said he has not considered a change of his centers in the starting lineup. . . . Owner Donald T. Sterling made his first appearance at a road game in at least 3 1/2 seasons, saying he was stopping over en route to business in New York. Admitting he couldn’t remember the last Clipper game he had watched in person outside the Sports Arena or the Forum, Sterling is also planning to be at Monday’s contest at New Jersey.