Manning Is Not at a Loss, Clippers Are : Pro basketball: Forward almost has triple-double in 97-91 defeat by Hawks, but speaks out about Harper’s absence.

Danny Manning showed where he stood on his left ankle.

With his best friend, Ron Harper, suspended for Friday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks for making derogatory comments about the Clippers, Manning wore a sweatband with No. 4, Harper’s uniform number, on his ankle.

“It was a sweatband for No. 4,” Manning said. “It’s also Spud Webb’s number, what are you trying to say? You make of it what you like. It was a sweatband with No. 4.”

Manning replaced Harper at shooting guard, and came within one assist of getting his second triple-double of the season in a 97-91 loss to the Hawks before 12,500 at the Sports Arena.

Manning--who had 27 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists--one shy of his career high, was visibly upset after not getting the triple-double.

“One assist!,” he said as he studied a stat sheet after the game. “Y’all supposed to find me a . . . . assist.”

Did Manning think the suspension of Harper, which cost the guard $48,780.49, was fair?

“It’s not like it holds any water,” Manning said. “It doesn’t matter.”

Earlier Manning told a wire service reporter: It’s the first time I’ve heard of someone being suspended for speaking the truth. Never assume, he could be talking about the city.”

What did the Clippers miss by not having Harper, their second leading scorer?

“We missed 18 or 19 points a game, that’s what we missed,” Manning said. “It kind of throws off your rotation when you don’t have one of your starters that you’ve been depending on all year. Ron’s a slasher. This is the type of game he excels at.”

Manning didn’t have much trouble switching to guard.

“A lot of it is just your mind set,” Manning said. “You can’t crash the boards, and you have to make sure we have some type of floor balance when we have the shot.

Harper, who wasn’t allowed to sit on the bench or be in uniform, declined comment Friday afternoon.

Rookie Charles Outlaw, signed to a 10-day contract on Monday, replaced Manning at small forward and did a good job against Hawk forward Dominique Wilkins, who missed 13 of 20 shots and scored 19 points. Outlaw had 10 points and nine rebounds.

But the Clippers couldn’t contain reserve guard Craig Ehlo, who sank five three-point shots and scored 20 points, including 15 in the first half.

The Clippers, who trailed, 86-77, outscored Atlanta, 10-3, to cut it to 89-87. Manning had the final four points in the run, hitting a pair of free throws and a jumper.

But the Hawks outscored the Clippers, 10-4, in the final 4:23 to hand the Clippers (17-31) their second loss in a row.

Clipper Notes

Charles Grantham, executive director of the National Basketball Players Assn., said he plans to meet with Ron Harper and his agent, Mark Termini, this weekend before deciding whether to file a grievance over Harper’s one-game suspension.