Clipper Loss Is Familiar : Pro basketball: In a game much like those of times past, they fall to Bulls, 101-94.

If Monday’s 101-94 loss to the Chicago Bulls looked familiar to the Clippers, it should.

They played a similar game on Feb 4.

That time, at the Sports Arena, the Clippers lost a game in overtime that they should have won, outshooting the Bulls, 50%-41.6%. Chicago’s Horace Grant had 11 offensive rebounds and 14 overall.

This time, before 18,482 at Chicago Stadium, the Clippers lost a game they could have--maybe should have--won, outshooting the Bulls, 51.2%-42.9%, but still dropping their 16th in a row here. Grant had 10 offensive rebounds and 17 overall.

“It was the same, really,” Clipper Mark Jackson said after scoring 16 points and handing out 12 assists, though he also had seven turnovers. “Two tough losses. Games we should have won.”

But didn’t. That says something about the Clippers.

“We’ve lost 20 games like this, games we had a chance to win in the fourth quarter,” Coach Larry Brown said. “We don’t stop teams when we have to, and we didn’t convert at the other end.”

Said Danny Manning, who led the Clippers with 23 points: “It’s all frustrating. It just boils down to another frustrating loss.”

Behind by eight points in the first quarter and 13 with 10 1/2 minutes to play in the second, the Clippers charged back for a 59-52 halftime lead behind 76.2% shooting in that period. Manning had 13 points, Ron Harper 12 of his 21.

That carried into the second half. The Clippers built the lead to as many as nine points, 65-56, on Harper’s short jump shot with 7:53 to play in the third quarter. The Bulls’ run started soon after, when Grant turned B.J. Armstrong’s miss into a rebound, a layup and, with the free throw, a three-point play. Chicago trailed, 75-74, heading into the final quarter.

The Bulls regained the lead on the first possession and never trailed again. The Clippers stayed close, getting within 94-92 with 2:21 to play after having scored on three consecutive possessions.

The game turned for good after a Chicago timeout. Michael Jordan misfired from the left side, but Grant tipped the rebound out to Scottie Pippen. He whipped the ball to Armstrong, who sank a three-pointer from the left baseline.

“It hurt,” Harper said. “It hurt bad. We played very good team defense, gave them a shot and they missed it. Then B.J. hit the key shot.”

Said Brown: “That was typical of the whole night.”

It also made for a successful return for Grant, after he had missed the previous two games because of tendinitis in his left knee.

“They weren’t blocking out as well as they could have,” he said. “The ball really bounced our way.”

The Clippers wouldn’t know much about that. The loss put them back under .500 (31-32) and is their seventh defeat in 10 games.

“This was a winnable game for us,” Jackson said. “We just made mistake after mistake and didn’t do the job. They (the Bulls) executed at both ends and we didn’t. The difference was we played in spurts.”

Jordan was shut out in the fourth quarter, the cap to a sub-par night of 23 points on 10-for-22 shooting with seven turnovers. Armstrong led the way with 12 of his career-high 28 points in the fourth quarter.

“I think it took a lot of pressure off Scottie and myself,” Jordan said. “The contribution from all the players was good tonight. Some of our legs are a little weak.”

Clipper Notes

Sunday’s victory at Minnesota was the 424th for Larry Brown in his NBA career, moving him past John Kundla and into No. 20 on the all-time coaching list. But that does not include his 229 victories in the ABA. “I’m mad, because they count players’ stats from the ABA and even the refs in their time of service, but not coaches,” Brown said. “I don’t get caught up in things like top 20. The Clippers gave me cake last year when I won my 600th pro game. Now all of the sudden I’ve lost 200-something wins?” . . . The victory against the Timberwolves also moved Brown past Don Chaney for the Los Angeles Clipper record of 54. . . . The Clippers are off until Thursday, when the Miami Heat comes to the Sports Arena.