Smith’s Impression a Winning One : Clippers: He scores 15 points in his first game for Brown, aiding a 101-96 victory over Orlando.

Charles Smith made his first appearance in nearly a month Sunday, and Danny Manning and Ron Harper continued their play from the past month.

That combination, despite the recent subtraction of Doc Rivers and James Edwards, equaled a 101-96 victory for the Clippers over the Orlando Magic, the ninth victory in the Clippers’ last 13 outings.

Smith, who missed nine games because of swelling and weakness in his right knee since facing the Lakers Feb. 5, played 19 minutes and made five of 10 shots and all five free throws for 15 points. He also had five rebounds.

He was conscious of making a good impression without disrupting the rhythm of a team that has been going so well. If anything, he was too conscious, because the guy who led the Clippers in shots last season had to be told by three teammates to take those he was passing up against the Magic.

“He was,” Manning said. “It’s all right. It’ll take time. But he will find his groove and fit right in.”

Said Smith, who said he doesn’t expect to reach 100% strength and mobility this season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on the knee in training camp: “I wasn’t nervous, just hesitant. The guys have a good flow going, and I didn’t want to come back and take all the open shots. I just wanted to move the ball a lot, which they have all been doing so well lately.”

Smith did not have any restrictions on the number of minutes he could play, the only guidelines being the plan to have him go about a six-minute stretch every quarter. That makes it easier to keep the joint loose, rather than having him make a couple substitutions each period.

He looked most out of shape at the start, after checking in with 4:43 left in the opening quarter.

“I just wanted to be careful with his minutes,” Larry Brown said after coaching Smith for the first time. “The first time out there, the first few minutes, well, I think we’ve all had cottonmouth before. It looked like that commercial you see on TV that says if you don’t go to college you’re running in lead boots.”

Manning appeared to continue his smooth stride. He averaged 22.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.66 steals and shot 56% in the 12 games of February, and began March with 25 points and seven rebounds. It was the second game in a row in which he has led all scorers and the third consecutive time he had team-high honors.

“The type of offense we now have, the type of system we are using, a lot of people are going to have to play,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to go out there and run the passing game. A lot of people get to touch the ball when it works right.

“I think I’m shooting the ball well. But a lot of that has to do with the offense we’re running. There is a lot of slashing (down the lane), so I should have a high shooting percentage.”

Harper just missed the Clippers’ first triple-double since Gary Grant did it against the Lakers Jan. 30, 1990. He had 24 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, but said that defense down the stretch was a key to the victory.

“We had to toughen up at the end,” he said. “They (the Magic) made some very tough shots. We came into the huddle for a timeout, and Larry said we had to pick up the defense. We did that.”

Orlando, with the second-worst record in the league, used a 19-5 run in the third quarter and start of the fourth to take an 83-81 lead. The Magic was up, 91-89, with 4:59 remaining.

But the Clippers allowed only five points the rest of the way--two free throws by Otis Smith with 3:05 left and a three-point shot by Anthony Bowie with five seconds to go.

Clipper Notes

The Clippers, looking to replace the injured Doc Rivers, may sign Tharon Mayes to a 10-day contract as soon as today. Jaren Jackson and Corey Gaines are also on their list of possibilities, but Mayes, who was with the Philadelphia 76ers, is the No. 1 choice because of his versatility. He can play both guard positions. Steve Bardo, who played for Coach Larry Brown with the San Antonio Spurs, might have been the most likely selection, but he got hurt last week. Rivers went on the injured list Saturday with a severely sprained left ankle, though more specialized X-rays will be taken today to make sure it is nothing worse.

Charles Smith probably will get time at center soon, and not just because of the uncertain status of James Edwards, who sprained his right ankle Friday in Los Angeles and did not accompany the Clippers here and probably also will miss Tuesday’s game at Miami. “I always thought when we played the Clippers when I was with San Antonio that he did a good job on David (Robinson),” Brown said. “He can really create problems for big people defensively.” . . . If Rivers misses two weeks, as expected, that could mean eight games, depending on the exact day of return. He has been sidelined for 19 of the Clippers’ 57 games.