Mutombo Rejects Clipper Challenge

The Clippers should have known they were in trouble Sunday night when Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo--simply Dikembe Mutombo in NBA circles--had more blocked shots than names. That came in the second quarter, when the Denver Nuggets had a 21-point lead en route to a 94-83 victory.

“I asked Ron, the Clipper guy, and Norman, ‘What’s going on with you guys? Why are you still coming down the middle on me?’ ” Mutombo said of Ron Harper and Ken Norman. “They said they weren’t going to stop trying to dunk on me. I said, ‘OK, fine.’ They wanted to challenge me.”

Not a good move by any of the Clipper guys. By game’s end at McNichols Arena, Mutombo had a triple-double with 12 blocks--most in the NBA this season--and 16 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Nuggets before 16,075.

The best the Clippers could do was avoid embarrassment. They were heading in that direction after scoring only 38 points in the first half, their third-fewest of the season, and needing until 3:54 remained in the third quarter to reach 50. This, against a team that came in allowing 106.7 a game.

The Clippers trailed, 81-61, with 9:28 to play before using a 21-5 charge to close within 86-82 with 3:20 left.

But they failed to score on their next five possessions, getting only free throws by Loy Vaught with 29 seconds to play to lose for the eighth time in a row on the road. Even more irritating to Coach Larry Brown was that the Nuggets regained a cushion, 89-82, on the strength of offensive rebounds on two consecutive shots that led to one free throw by Reggie Williams and a tip-in by LaPhonso Ellis.

Same old Clipper problems: Not getting back on defense, not staying in front of their man on defense and not blocking out on missed shots, the latter when it mattered most.

“I said that every timeout,” Brown said. “Finally, the times we did that, we got within four (points) and then gave up two offensive rebounds in a row.

“I was trying to be creative and say something a different way. Even (assistants) R.C. (Buford) and John (Hammond) said to me, ‘Do you get tired of saying the same thing?’ ”

It came on a night when the Clippers saw a lot of the same thing: Blocked shots. The Nuggets had 15 in all, 10 more than the Clippers. The 12 by Mutombo were an NBA-era record for Denver and the most against the Clippers or Buffalo Braves, beating the previous mark of 10 by Manute Bol and Mark Eaton. Harper was the victim on five of them.

“I don’t think we were discouraged by the way he played,” said Harper, who led the Clippers with 17 points. “This wasn’t his first big game and it won’t be his last big game.”

The Clippers can only hope they won’t be there for the next one.

Clipper Notes

Gary Grant is teetering on falling out of the playing rotation. He had gone six quarters without playing before going 18 minutes and having a key role in the victory over Golden State and then playing 22 against Denver. He competes with Lester Conner for the role as third guard. . . . Jaren Jackson, activated Saturday after spending almost three months on the injured list because of a broken ankle, played for the first time since Jan. 12. He had six points and three rebounds in eight minutes. . . . The Clippers had 11 assists, a season low. The previous was 18.