Clippers Happy to Work Late : Pro basketball: They beat the Hawks, 111-107, and remain unbeaten in five overtime games.

The Clippers played another overtime game Friday night, as comfortable a situation this season as playing at the Sports Arena.

By beating the Atlanta Hawks, 111-107, behind 22 points from Danny Manning and Ron Harper and 21 off the bench by James Edwards, the Clippers improved to 5-0 in overtime games.

They did it without the injured Charles Smith and Doc Rivers and largely by offense that came, at best, only indirectly from the offense.

First, Ken Norman put the Clippers (20-20) ahead to stay by rebounding Danny Young’s missed shot and putting it back in for a 107-105 lead. Then, Harper clinched the victory by stepping in front of Morlon Wiley’s pass at halfcourt and went in for an uncontested dunk and a 109-105 lead.

“My philosophy, and coach’s, is to go with the guys you have,” Norman said, noting Manning fouled out with 32 seconds to play in regulation.

“We were without Charles and Doc and Danny. But one of the strengths of this team is depth.”

Added Harper: “We knew we were undefeated this year in overtime games. Tonight, we thought we should have had the game won a long time ago. So we came out (in the overtime) and did what we had to do.”

The Clippers had a 99-92 lead with 2:19 to play in regulation, but saw that disappear. A 17-footer from the left baseline by Kevin Willis with 1.4 seconds remaining gave Atlanta a 99-99 tie and forced the overtime.

The Clippers began the night 1-4 in games when both Rivers and Smith did not play. But there was still some good feeling because Rivers’ examination by team physician Tony Daly confirmed that Rivers has a strained left hamstring, not something worse such as a tear.

So the Clippers decided not to put Rivers on the injured list, hoping for a second rapid recovery. In November, strained ligaments in Rivers’ left thumb kept him out only three games, fewer than initially anticipated.

The schedule helps this time. The Clippers have five days off before facing the Kings Jan. 31 at Sacramento.

“He’ll feel fine in a three or four days,” trainer Keith Jones said. “The extra caution is letting him take more time to sit. Then, when he comes back, he has to be honest with himself. If he feels something funny in the leg, he has to come out.”

The Clippers got an additional boost with the return of Gary Grant, who sat out the previous two games because of a strained abdominal muscle. But Coach Mike Schuler decided to start Danny Young in Rivers’ place, keeping Grant as the backup.

“Gary is coming off an injury, so I don’t know how effective he’ll be,” Schuler said before the game. “And Danny certainly has played well in the time he has played so far.”

Clipper Notes

Bo Kimble had planned to shoot his first home free throw of the season left-handed in tribute to his late friend and Loyola Marymount teammate Hank Gathers. But when Kimble went to the line late in the first quarter Friday to shoot a technical foul that came from an illegal defense call against the Hawks, Coach Mike Schuler called out to shoot right handed. Kimble missed. His left-handed try came the next attempt after being fouled by Jon Koncak , but the shot went long.

Danny Young is aware of his shortcomings as a Clipper, but they have to do with time with the team and not talent. “This is a tough situation,” he said of the possibility of starting or getting a lot of minutes the next few games. “Going down the stretch, teams like to have guys who have been there and played together a while. With me, he (Schuler) has to diagram during a timeout what he wants. When I come downcourt, I have to think what I’m supposed to do instead of just reacting.” . . . Trainer Keith Jones said Charles Smith, whose strained shoulder muscle is improving, is “very probable” for the next game, Tuesday at San Antonio.