Harper Turns It Up Again : Pro basketball: He scores game-high 36 points as Clippers extend streak to three with a 119-109 victory over the Hornets.

Clipper Coach Larry Brown said that guard Ron Harper played as well as he could after he got 20 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals in Thursday night’s 122-104 victory over the Orlando Magic.

“Two nights ago, I thought he played a perfect game,” Brown said. “He had seven assists and no turnovers--but tonight he was even better.”

Harper scored a season-high 36 points, including 13 in the third quarter as the Clippers overcame a nine-point deficit and defeated the Charlotte Hornets, 119-109, before 11,830 at the Sports Arena on Saturday night.

“When someone is hot, you’ve got to get them the ball,” said Harper, who made 16 of 27 shots. “I think the guys felt I had the hot hand and they kept passing the ball to me.”

Forward Ken Norman, who scored a season-high 33 points against Orlando, had 27 points and 10 rebounds against Charlotte, and Danny Manning added 20 points and five assists as the Clippers won their third consecutive game. After opening the season with three losses, they have won nine of their last 12 games.

Trailing 81-74 in the third quarter, the Clippers went on a 21-4 run to open a 95-85 lead. Guard Gary Grant had three steals to set up a layup and dunks by Loy Vaught and Harper, who also made a three-pointer to beat the shot clock on another possession.

“Gary hit open shots, made some key steals and defended Muggsy Bogues well,” Brown said of Grant. “I thought Gary gave us a big lift. When we needed it, he really stepped up.”

Grant, who had 12 points, three steals, three assists and three rebounds in 25 minutes as a reserve, said the Clipper defense turned the game around.

“I think our defense was the key,” Grant said. “Our defense made everybody more pumped up.”

Larry Johnson scored a team-high 28 points, 16 in the first half, and had 12 rebounds to lead the Hornets, who saw a two-game winning streak end.

The Clippers started fast, opening an 11-point lead as the Hornets missed seven of their first nine shots. But the Clippers collapsed after Brown went to his bench and the Hornets ended the quarter with a 15-4 run to tie the score, 27-27, going into the second quarter.

Trailing 53-49 after Norman’s three-point play with 1:45 left in the first half, the Hornets pulled to 53-53 at intermission. Kenny Gattison made a three-foot hook shot and Del Curry made a 20-foot jumper at the buzzer.

The Clippers, who shot 41.1% in the first half, missed eight of their first 12 shots of the second half as they fell behind by nine points midway through the third quarter.

“This game was a game of runs,” Charlotte Coach Allen Bristow said. “We had the third quarter, but in the fourth quarter we committed too many turnovers.”

Clipper Notes

Coach Larry Brown said he spoke with forward Ken Norman after reading Norman’s comments that he wasn’t appreciated by management and was going to try to score more points within the framework of the offense. After getting 33 points and nine rebounds during Thursday’s victory over the Orlando Magic, Norman, who apparently is frustrated by stalled contract talks, said: “I don’t think my hustle and determination is appreciated, so I was looking to my offense a little more.” Asked if he was bothered by Norman’s comments, Brown said: “Sure, they bothered me. I just want Kenny to focus in on playing basketball. I don’t like to hear a player (saying) he thinks he needs to do certain things to get management to appreciate him. But I love Kenny, and I love the way he’s playing and the way he tries. He’s got a forum now. I just told him to play the way he’s always played.”

Said Norman: “(Brown) knows that I’m not the type of player or person to go out and try to score 100 points and work on individual stats. He knows that’s not me. By no means (am) I going to be a selfish player. That’s not in my nature.” Norman left immediately after the game to fly to Chicago to visit his mother, who was hospitalized last week after suffering chest pains.

Kiki Vandeweghe, who sat out his second consecutive game because of a sprained left ankle, hopes to play during the Clippers’ three-day trip that begins Tuesday at Cleveland and includes stops in New Jersey and Philadelphia.