Harper Puts the Hurt on Timberwolves : Pro basketball: He scores 31 points despite sore ankle and helps Clippers end five-game home losing streak, 103-93.

Ron Harper, who had averaged 27.5 points in his last two games, thought he might have to sit out the Clippers’ game against the Minnesota Timberwolves Saturday night because of a sore left ankle.

“My teammates are trying to force me to play,” Harper jokingly said before the game. “It’s been swollen the last three days.”

But Harper played and played well, scoring 31 points as the Clippers ended a five-game home losing streak by beating the Timberwolves, 103-93, before 10,634 at the Sports Arena.

It was the first time the Clippers have played at the Sports Arena since Jan. 8. They moved their last two home games to the Forum and Anaheim Arena because the Sports Arena was being repaired after suffering earthquake damage on Jan 17.

Harper, who scored a season-high 37 points in Tuesday night’s 111-103 victory at Seattle, made 12 of 22 shots, including three three-pointers as the Clippers (15-25) won for the second time in their last three games.

Harper had 11 points in the third quarter as the Clippers built a 16-point third-quarter lead.

Perhaps distracted by contract negotiations, Harper, who is in the final year of a contract that pays him $4 million this season, has been inconsistent on the court and outspoken off the court.

But he has been consistent lately.

Harper played well as the Clippers handed Seattle its second home loss of the season Tuesday and he had 18 points as they came within three points of defeating the New York Knicks Thursday night.

“Contract doesn’t bother me,” Harper said. “I ain’t got no fear about it. I know I’m going to make $3 or $4 million next season. The thing is you have to enjoy playing the game of basketball and you have to enjoy playing for the team.

“If we’re going to be successful the rest of the season, we’re going to have to put all that behind us.”

Danny Manning, who had 19 points, thinks Harper has picked up his game a notch.

“Ron is going to the basket very well and shooting the open jump shot very well,” Manning said. “He’s playing great.”

Leading 87-72, the Clippers were outscored, 15-6, as Minnesota cut the lead to 93-87 with 3:09 left on a layup by Doug West, who had 30 points.

But Mark Jackson, who had 10 points, seven assists and six rebounds, scored on a drive and Harold Ellis and Harper each made two free throws as the Clippers beat Minnesota (14-27) for the first time in three games this season.

Ellis, who had a season-high six steals, did a good job on rookie guard Isaiah Rider, who scored a season-high 32 points in a 15-point win against the Clippers last month at the Sports Arena. Rider missed his first four shots and wound up missing nine of 13 shots as he scored 10 points.

Clipper Notes

Forward John Williams began working out with Clipper shooting coach Kiki Vandeweghe and conditioning coach Carl Horne Saturday after spending the last four months at a weight reduction program at Duke University. Although no date has been set, he could return to play after the All-Star break. “John looks like he’s in good shape,” Vandeweghe said. “He’s anxious to come back as soon as possible, but we don’t want to rush him. We’re going to take it fairly slowly and see how things progress.”

Although Williams declined to reveal his weight, it appears that he lost at least 50 pounds and now weighs about 280. Williams, listed at 6-9 and 290, reportedly weighed 330 pounds when he entered the program, which included a low-fat, low-salt diet of about 1,500 to 2,000 calories a day. “I feel great now,” Williams said.

“I can look in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, you’ve done something nice.’ I see myself now and see a totally different person. When I got dressed to come to the game and I tried on some old clothes and they didn’t fit.”

Williams, who averaged 18.2 points in the first 12 games of the 1989-90 season before tearing a ligament in his right knee, thinks he’ll improve the Clippers when he returns.

“I feel I’m about where I was before I got hurt,” Williams said. “The level where I was before I got hurt was pretty good. The thing I see with the Clippers is that it looked like everyone is going in different directions. When I get back things are going to change.”