Clippers Lose Fifth in Row : Pro basketball: Heat, a team going in the other direction, beats them, 109-90, drawing boos from Sports Arena crowd.

The Clippers, who made the NBA playoffs the last two seasons, are looking more and more like a lottery team with each game.

They extended their losing streak to a season-high five in a row, losing to the Miami Heat, 109-90, Saturday night before a booing crowd of 11,866 at the Sports Arena.

Coach Bob Weiss held a 20-minute, closed-door team meeting after the game to try to get the Clippers out of their slump. It’s their longest losing streak since they lost six in a row in November of 1990.

“We had some stuff we needed to talk about,” Weiss said. “But it was behind closed doors. We put our heads down when things went a little wrong and I just couldn’t accept it.

“We’re running out of X’s and O’s. We’re running out of meetings. Eventually, we’ll get out of it. . . . I think at times they don’t think they can win.”

Guard Mark Jackson is at a loss.

“I really don’t have any answers,” he said. “We’ve got to look at ourselves. The coaches have done everything they can do. We’ve got to stop pointing fingers and go out and do the job.

“I haven’t been around a situation like this in all my years of basketball. We’ve got to step up and get the job done or else it’s going to be a long year. It’s up to us.”

The Clippers (11-19), who begin a six-game, nine-day East Coast trip Tuesday at New York, have lost nine of their last 11 games.

“No one likes to lose,” said Danny Manning, who scored a game-high 27 points. “I’m very frustrated. When you’re losing, everything is wrong. You can say whatever you want and you can point your fingers at whoever you like. It’s easy to do when things are bad.

“We’ve just got to buckle down and stay together. And that’s all that needs to be said from my standpoint.”

Ron Harper agreed.

“It’s just very tough times right now,” he said. “I’m not here to point and say who ain’t doing what and who ain’t doing that. I think as a team we need to pick up our enthusiasm.”

The Clippers made Miami reserve center Matt Geiger, who scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 27 minutes, look like an All-Star as they stood around on defense. Miami’s bench outscored the Clipper bench, 68-16, as the Heat (16-13) extended its winning streak to four. Off to the best start in franchise history, Miami has won nine of 11 games.

Trailing, 57-47, two minutes into the third quarter, the Clippers outscored the Heat, 13-4, to cut it to 61-60. Harper had six points in the spurt, hitting a free throw, a layup and a three-pointer.

But the Clippers scored only five points in the last four minutes of the third quarter and trailed, 73-65, going into the final quarter.

“I’ve been concerned for quite a while,” Weiss said. “They’re not playing up to their own potential and it’s our own heads that are losing the ballgames. We are making the mistakes.”

Clipper Notes

Harold Ellis, who signed with the Clippers Friday, played the final 1:15. Ellis, the final player the Clippers waived before the season opened, averaged 21.4 points, six rebounds and 2.9 steals for Quad Cities in the CBA.