Rockets Go to the Max and Win : Game 5: Clippers erase a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but Houston scores the last five points and wins, 84-80, to take the series.

They came out from beneath the rubble, a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter, and stole the momentum one final time, leading by one point with 57 seconds to play.

And then it slipped away from the Clippers in the time it took Vernon Maxwell to launch a three-pointer and Kenny Smith to break free from the pack for a layup. It was over for good--Game 5, the Western Conference quarterfinal series and the season in an 84-80 loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday at the Summit.

Maybe it was only fitting. The Clippers had struggled so many times during the regular season, often among themselves, but still emerged as a dangerous team that beat Phoenix three times and New York twice. In the playoffs, they were hammered in the opener, recovered to win Game 2, lost at the Sports Arena, then held the Rockets to 15 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday to avoid elimination.

Then came the second half of Game 5, with a chance to advance to the semifinals on the line. The Clippers drifted back and then mounted one final kick. The Rockets kicked back, getting Maxwell’s 24-footer for a two-point lead and Smith’s uncontested layup when no Clipper stayed back on defense.

“Everything but the win,” Ken Norman said.

Pride seemed a lofty enough goal in the third quarter, when the Rockets went on a 22-4 run in the final 6:33 to take a 67-56 lead. That was the same stretch, not coincidentally, when fans chanted “MVP! MVP!” in unison as Hakeem Olajuwon was at the line, even if free throws were only pings in the major body work he was doing to the Clippers.

Olajuwon had 13 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots that quarter, during which the Clippers had a season-low 12 points. He struck again early in the fourth with a rebound layup after Maxwell’s 40-footer to beat the shot clock. The run was 27-4, the lead, 72-56, with 10:50 to play.

Then came a comeback deserving of the name. It started innocently enough, Danny Manning’s jump shot from the left side after Olajuwon blocked a shot by Mark Jackson. Then Lester Conner hit from the outside. Jackson followed with a layup. Things were suddenly interesting, 72-62.

When Manning (24 points, 12 rebounds) put in a rebound and Jackson added another layup, the Clippers were within six points. After some basket-swapping the Clippers surged again, using an 9-0 rally to cut the deficit to 79-78. When Ron Harper (19 points) followed that with a driving layup, they held an 80-79 lead with 1:17 to go.

“Oh, yeah,” Clipper center Stanley Roberts said. “They got nervous, and we got excited.”

Said Olajuwon, who finished with 31 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocks: “I was just upset and frustrated. We were making it difficult for ourselves. That pressure should have been on them, and they were putting the pressure on us.”

The Clippers, after a 24-7 charge, had no way of knowing those would be their final points. The lead didn’t last long, either. It was gone moments after Harper’s basket when Maxwell delivered. This was the same Maxwell who missed the first three games because of a broken wrist, who played only six minutes in Game 4 and, just before becoming an instant hero, was one of seven on three-pointers and three of 14 overall.

“When it left my hand, it was going straight all the way,” Maxwell said. “I thought it was in. I was due for one to go in.”

The Clippers called time out. They got in close when Jackson spun through the lane, but his shot missed. What happened next was far worse.

Smith broke from the pack and streaked downcourt. The closest coverage was about 15 feet away, reaching the free-throw line as Smith cruised to the layup. It was 84-80 with 33.9 seconds to play.

“That was the killer,” Clipper Coach Larry Brown said.

The Clippers, going for the quick hit, missed three three-pointers before the ball went out of bounds to Houston with 12.5 seconds to play. The Clippers still weren’t conceding, fouling Smith intentionally to stop the clock with 10.6 seconds left, then regaining possession when Jaren Jackson tied up Scott Brooks for a jump ball and won the tip.

They missed two more three-pointers and the Rockets, who will face Seattle in the West semifinals, celebrated getting out of the first round for the first time since 1987.

The Clippers dressed for the flight home, for the first day of summer vacation.

“I’m real proud of what we’ve done,” Brown said. “We gave ourselves a chance to win. We didn’t get it done, but I don’t think as a coach I could have asked for anything more.

“We’ve been through a lot this year. A lot of it hasn’t been really nice or fun, but the effort the last part of the season and what happened in the playoffs meant a lot to a lot of people. I just wish we could have gotten it done. It would have been great for our franchise. This franchise needs something good to happen.”