Clippers Remain Off Kilter : Pro basketball: They squander a 16-point lead as the 76ers dominate inside and win, 110-106.

The Clippers. They have fallen, and they can’t get up.

And teams are stepping on them. Sunday at the Sports Arena, the 8-16 Philadelphia 76ers fell behind by 16 points during the second quarter before taking over inside while Jeff Hornacek and Hersey Hawkins did the rest for a 110-106 victory before 10,829.

The 76ers went on a 20-4 run at the end of the second quarter and start of the third to pull back into the game, another of 16-5 later in the third and, finally, one of 17-1 to take a 100-91 lead with four minutes left.

The 76ers came in as the second-worst rebounding team in the league, but Charles Shackleford, averaging 5.8 rebounds at the start of the night, had seven on offense and nine overall in only 19 minutes off the bench.

“He’s not close to Dennis Rodman,” the Clippers’ Ron Harper said. “He should never have that many offensive rebounds.”

Only two weeks ago, the Clippers were on a streak of 10 victories in 13 games. With the longest home stand of the season, a four-game set that will end Wednesday against Boston, already a disaster and a six-game Eastern Conference trip opening Saturday, they have lost five of seven.

There isn’t much mystery how, so says the opposition’s shooting success in those seven:

Philadelphia, 52.4%.

San Antonio, 49.3%.

Dallas (a victory), 39.4%.

Seattle, 53.1%.

Minnesota (the other victory), 55.7%.

Golden State, 52.9%.

Golden State, 48.9%.

A team that had Manute Bol and Shackleford at center and 6-foot-9 Tim Perry, 6-7 Clarence Weatherspoon and 6-7 Ron Anderson at forward exploited the Clippers’ almost nonexistent interior strength. When it wasn’t the rebounding of Shackleford or Weatherspoon, who had a game-high 11, it was someone coming down the lane for a layup or dunk.

“If you look at most teams, the defense starts with the (centers),” said Harper, who had 12 points, a season-high 10 assists and the Clippers’ only three blocked shots.

“Watch Hakeem (Olajuwon), David (Robinson), Larry Nance, Brad Daugherty, Patrick Ewing. Anyone drives the hole, the big men change their shots. We have people driving the hole and the big men are not changing their shots.

“We didn’t do the job. And when you allow a team like that second and third shots, you’ll be in for a long evening. And we were in for a long evening.”

The problem only worsened when the Clippers got behind. Stanley Roberts had eight rebounds, six offensive, and 12 points in 23 minutes, but Larry Brown went with a quick lineup to stop the 76ers’ momentum. Except that his best defensive guard, Gary Grant, did not play because of flu.

“You’ve go to start with the premise of playing 48 minutes,” Brown said after the Clippers dropped to 14-12.

“At times we lack discipline, at times we are careless. But our biggest problem is guarding people.”

The improving 76ers, who three games earlier had won at Chicago and Saturday night beat the Trail Blazers before losing at Chicago, made seven of eight free throws in the final 1:03. Their lead was 109-106 with 17 seconds left when Hornacek, who had 30 points, saw teammate Ron Anderson on the ground after grabbing a loose ball and in danger of getting tied up for a jump ball. Hornacek quickly called a timeout.

When play resumed, the Clippers did not foul to stop the clock until only nine seconds remained.

Greg Grant then made one of the free throws for the final four-point margin.

Hawkins had 19 of his 23 points during the second half.

Clipper Notes

Coach Larry Brown decided against the lineup change he said he might consider after Friday’s loss to San Antonio--for the time being at least--and stayed with the same starting five. “I’d been thinking about it,” he said. “But when we go out and struggle like we have, I don’t like to do it. It’s like I’m pointing a finger at someone.”

Gary Grant’s absence was unfortunate timing for the Clippers because their three-guard lineup has worked well and is more of a necessity than an option against Philadelphia because of the 76ers’ depth with Jeff Hornacek, Johnny Dawkins and Hersey Hawkins. The bulk of Grant’s time went to Jaren Jackson, who played 20 minutes. The flu and cold bug has been sweeping the Clippers, hitting everyone from players to Brown.