Clippers Talk It Out, Take It Out on the Nuggets, 121-119

The Clippers flew from Los Angeles to Colorado late Friday night but could not escape the memory of Chris Jackson and his 50-footer that gave Denver a victory a few hours earlier at the Sports Arena. That it was only their latest fourth-quarter failure only made matters worse.

So they met Saturday afternoon before the rematch in the home-and-home series and, in the words of Loy Vaught, “asked a lot of intense questions about the character of this team and how we would respond.”

The answer: Playing without injured Ron Harper, the Clippers scored on nine of their last 12 possessions and converted 11 of 14 free throws during that span to win, 121-119, before 15,241 at McNichols Arena.

The Clippers actually scored on nine of their final 11 trips they wanted to, earning the two-point margin. On the final possession, they held the ball the closing 5.2 seconds as the Nuggets, Dikembe Mutombo especially, refused to come out and foul, or at least try for a desperation steal.

“As heartbroken as they were last night,” Nugget Reggie Williams said, “we are tonight.”

Gary Grant, starting for Harper, made four of his first five shots and finished six of 10 with 12 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Vaught, in a four-of-17 slump the previous three games, was seven of 10 en route to 19 points and a team-high 10 rebounds off the bench. Mark Jackson had 27 points and Danny Manning added 23.

The afternoon meeting had been called by Coach Larry Brown but was continued by the players after the staff had left. The topics included everything from attitude during warm-ups to defense during the fourth quarter.

Victory was the result.

“It feels real good, especially after giving that one away the way that we did,” Mark Jackson said, referring to the loss in Los Angeles after the Clippers blew a 12-point lead during the fourth quarter.

“We really looked at this as a game we were not going to allow to get away from us. It was no pay-back. These games, I feel, we are supposed to win.”

The turning point came with the Clippers trailing, 114-112, with two minutes to play. Vaught made two free throws, then a jumper from the right side for a 116-114 lead. The Clippers (7-6) never trailed again.

Even the missed free throws were going their way. When Jackson’s second attempt with 42 seconds remaining went astray, Ken Norman grabbed the offensive rebound. Norman’s shot was immediately rejected by Mutombo, but the ball bounced out to Manning, who came in a few steps and made a 12-footer for a 120-116 advantage and the eventual winning points.

The Nuggets got back within 120-119 on Williams’ three-pointer. But Manning made the score 121-119 by making one free throw with 13 seconds to play. That left a final Denver attempt . . . and Chris Jackson with the ball on the perimeter, looking to shoot.

Williams ended up with the ball and drove to the basket, but stepped on the baseline before getting a shot.

Clipper Notes

Two minor knee injuries, suffered on separate plays Friday against Denver at the Sports Arena, kept Ron Harper out of the lineup for the first time since he returned full-time from reconstructive knee surgery during the second half of the 1990-91 season, ending a streak of 129 appearances. According to trainer Keith Jones, the slight strain and the bruise provide no major cause for concern.

Larry Brown became the 21st coach to win 400 games in the NBA. He also has 229 victories in the American Basketball Assn., including 125 with the Nuggets, but, unlike statistics for former ABA players, those numbers do not count in Brown’s NBA total. Only four other active coaches have reached the milestone: Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson, Pat Riley and Chuck Daly. . . . Reggie Williams returned to the lineup for the Nuggets after sitting out the previous two games because of a deep cut on his right big toe. . . . Denver activated Robert Werdann and put Bryant Stith, who suffered a broken right foot Nov. 19, on the injured list.