Clippers Bore Their Way to a Loss

How dull was the Clippers’ 103-88 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night at the Omni?

During a stoppage in play, Clipper Coach Bill Fitch was so bored that he walked over to the press table and picked up broadcaster Ralph Lawler’s pager to check on the scores of other NBA games.

The Clippers (31-38), who play the Detroit Pistons tonight, are in seventh place in the Western Conference, half a game ahead of the Phoenix Suns.

Playing the first game of a seven-game, 12-day trip that could determine whether they earn their first playoff berth in four years, the Clippers were flat, shooting only 38.4% and giving away 15 turnovers. They made only six of 23 three-point shots.

Not surprisingly, they couldn’t wait to depart.

“Boy, you guys are sure in a hurry,” a police officer guarding the player entrance said as forward Rodney Rogers ran out a side door to board the bus.

If you shot the way Rogers did, you’d be in a hurry to sneak out of town.

Rogers missed nine of 12 from the field, including four of five three-point shots. Forward Lamond Murray missed six of seven shots and guard Malik Sealy missed five of seven.

“You can’t be too critical of the way we played tonight because you’d be criticizing from the opening gun to the end of the game,” Fitch said. “I can’t think of one period where we did anything that really got me excited.”

Sealy said the Clippers, who trailed by as many as 19 points, were out of sync.

“They gave us a good old fashioned whipping,” Sealy said. “We didn’t shoot particularly well at different stretches in the game. We kept climbing back, but they always seemed to have an answer.”

Leery of Hawk center Dikembe Mutombo, who blocked eight shots in Atlanta’s 16-point victory over the Clippers on Jan. 28 at the Sports Arena, the Clippers altered their shots and made only 29.4% in the third quarter. “They forced us into doing some silly things,” said forward Loy Vaught, who had 10 points and 11 rebounds. “It wasn’t our best basketball tonight.”

Rookie center Lorenzen Wright, who averaged 22 points and 11.5 rebounds in his last two games, was one of the few bright spots as the Clippers’ two-game winning streak ended.

Matched against Mutombo, Wright had 20 points and nine rebounds, while Mutombo had 13 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots as the Hawks won their sixth consecutive game.

“I played OK, but it doesn’t mean anything because we lost,” Wright said. “We were down a lot when I got most of my points.”

Fitch said Wright, who made 10 of 11 shots, has become a better shooter by working after practice.

“He’s living proof that if you go out and work on your shot in this league you can get better,” Fitch said. “His shooting has really improved.”

Hawk guard Mookie Blaylock, who played for Fitch in New Jersey, had 26 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals and guard Steve Smith had 19 points as the Hawks won for the 32nd time in 36 home games and moved into a virtual fourth-place tie with the Pistons in the Eastern Conference.

“I had Mookie the first three years of his career,” said Fitch, who liked Blaylock so much that he urged the Nets not to draft guard Kenny Anderson. “He’s a hell of a competitor, and a hell of a player.”

The Clippers, who trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, cut the Hawk lead to 50-42 at halftime.

But the Clippers scored only nine points in the first 8 1/2 minutes of the third quarter, falling behind by 19 points, and they never got closer than 12 points the rest of the game.