As Debuts Go, Brown’s Is a Winner : Pro basketball: Clippers blow an early 15-point lead but end up coming back for a 97-95 victory over Houston.

Larry Brown premiered as coach Wednesday night, and the Clippers almost offered up a rerun.

Instead, after blowing a 15-point second-quarter lead and falling behind by five points in the fourth, they outlasted the Houston Rockets, 97-95, at the Sports Arena when Ron Harper made a layup with 7.5 seconds left.

“I was scared to death, to be honest,” Brown said of his first game since being fired Jan. 21 by San Antonio and what turned out to be his 600th professional victory. “It was a long day. You never like to follow anybody in this kind of situation, and that was tough. I was nervous, no doubt about that.”

The Clippers gave him reason to stay that way to the end. They led, 93-91, after Ken Norman whipped a pass inside to Danny Manning, who put it in with 2:07 left. From there, however, the Rockets, who came in with five consecutive road losses, all by double digits, tied the score on two free throws by Vernon Maxwell.

The Clippers’ next possession was ruled a turnover when Gary Grant threw the ball out of bounds. Actually, all three referees missed the pass apparently being deflected by Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon, who had eight of his nine blocks in the second half.

It was one of the few things that Olajuwon got his hands on and didn’t get credit for, but the Rockets didn’t care. Maxwell took advantage of that break by scoring in deep for a 95-93 Houston lead with 58 seconds remaining.

Manning’s two free throws tied it again, 95-95. After Olajuwon missed a hook from the left post and Manning grabbed the rebound, the Clippers called time out with 27 seconds to play. The result, some 20 seconds later, was Manning posting up on the right side and throwing a no-look pass underneath to Harper, who turned it into the last of his team-high 21 points and a 23-25 record for the Clippers.

“He’s a great passer,” Harper said of Manning. “When you’re 6-10 and pass the ball the way he does, you can see the whole court. I was heading to the basket and said ‘Woooo!’ and he knew it was me cutting to the basket.”

The Rockets’ final attempt was Maxwell’s three-pointer from the right side, which bounced off the heel of the rim and into Manning’s hands. That was one of his 11 rebounds to go with 15 points.

It was a nice change for the crowd of 7,500 at the Sports Arena, where the attendance was announced at 10,267, reflecting all tickets sold.

And it made the wait pay off for Brown, who was hired last Wednesday, the night of the Clippers’ last game before the All-Star break.

On the morning of his Clipper debut, Brown ran five miles to curb some of his anxieties, rain or no. The sun came out near the end, something Brown took as an omen, and some motorists who recognized him honked or slowed down to shout encouragement.

“I’m nervous,” he said before the game. “I had to go out and run to get my mind off of it. Then I left real early to get here. I was ready to get going.

“I really don’t know what to expect. All I know is that the two days (of practice) I’ve been with them, they have been great. They were attentive and working hard.”

This is the first time Brown has ever taken over a team in midseason, so he has set modest goals for the early going: Work hard on defense, get back quickly on the transition and hustle for loose balls. That done, he figures, and victories will take care of themselves.

The Clippers began the night averaging 99.9 points a game, one of only four teams in the league below triple figures. That offense, often appearing stagnant, helped get Mike Schuler fired. But Brown’s passing game--geared toward constant movement of the players and the ball--will be implemented slowly.

The Clippers started off well for Brown, getting a defense-generated 24-10 lead. They were up, 29-17, at the end of the first quarter. Eighteen of the Clipper points came after Rocket misses or turnovers, including four steals.

Getting their eighth consecutive home victory against Houston, the Clippers led, 51-36, before the Rockets began to come back, ending the half with an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to 53-47.

Clipper Notes

Although his injury is still being termed nothing more than swelling and soreness in his right knee and tests continue to come up negative, Charles Smith is expected to be out at least a week. Then Smith’s status will be re-evaluated, trainer Keith Jones said. Counting Wednesday, that means Smith will miss at least four games and maybe five before getting clearance to test the leg again. This injury can be attributed to his arthroscopic surgery during training camp, but it is only related. The problem was with cartilage, now it’s with a ligament. . . . The Clippers have played only 15 of their 48 games with both Smith and Doc Rivers in the lineup, going 10-5.