Clippers Can’t Cool the Heat : Pro basketball: Miner has 19 as Miami maintains dominance with 133-117 victory.

It was no Miner sensation. It was the Miami Heat arriving at the Sports Arena, which meant trouble for the Clippers.

With Glen Rice making seven of 10 three-pointers en route to 26 points, Harold Miner adding 19 in the homecoming to his college stomping grounds and Rony Seikaly getting 20 rebounds, the Heat improved to 9-3 lifetime against the Clippers, including 5-1 in Los Angeles, with a 133-117 victory Thursday night before a crowd of 13,178.

The best the Clippers--losers of eight of their last 11--could do was make a game of it after trailing by 19 points in the third quarter. They made it 109-102 with 7:55 to play before the Heat slammed the door on any comeback hopes, scoring the most points by a Clipper opponent this season in the process.

“Naturally, I wanted to perform well in front of the hometown crowd,” Miner said after making six of 10 shots in 21 minutes. “I got psyched up for the game.”

The 133 points was 30 more than Miami’s average.

The Heat has won 10 of its last 12 games to draw within 1 1/2 games of the Orlando Magic for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

It was Miner’s first game at the Sports Arena since USC upset Arizona in the 1992 regular-season finale, before he achieved greater notoriety by becoming a first-round draft choice and then winning the NBA slam dunk title last month at the All-Star weekend. The welcoming party included about 60 family members and friends.

They chanted “Har-old! Har-old!” even before tip-off. They booed Heat Coach Kevin Loughery during pregame introductions, presumably angered that Miner played only 11 minutes in the Inglewood native’s Jan. 10 game at the Forum. Loughery responded with a sarcastic bow.

“The Forum was a lot different because I never played there,” Miner said before the game. “And the Lakers were my team growing up. But it’s still exciting to play here again.”

Miner checked in with 2:10 to play in the first quarter, to a rousing ovation. He responded with a dunk on the Heat’s next possession, consecutive baskets to open the second quarter after posting up against smaller Clipper guards, and he had 15 points by the end of the first half.

Clipper Notes

Though known for his offense, Ron Harper, with 16 steals over the four games before Thursday, had moved into fifth place in the NBA in that category. He was at 2.36 per game overall, trailing only leader Michael Jordan (2.66), John Stockton (2.46), Mookie Blaylock (2.40) and Nate McMillan (2.39). “(When) you’re known as one of the game’s premier scorers, people are going to look past your defense,” said Harper, the Clippers’ second-leading scorer. “. . . I always try to be in the top 10 in steals. I don’t have a clause in my contract that if I get in the top 10 I get more cash or anything, it’s just a pride thing.” . . . Miami’s Keith Askins was ejected with 3:58 to play in the second quarter for a flagrant foul on Ken Norman. Norman briefly tried to get at Askins but was held back by teammates. . . . The deal-breaker in the three-way trade with Dallas and Charlotte that would have made Kendall Gill a Clipper? Maverick General Manager Norm Sonju is saying that Quinn Buckner, his coach in waiting, did not want Gary Grant. Dallas had already decided on Buckner, even if it was not announced, so management kept him posted on the trade possibilities. That apparently is how this trade--which also would have sent Loy Vaught to the Mavericks and Derek Harper to the Hornets--got quashed at the last minute.