It’s Scary as Clippers Win on Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th must be the Clippers’ lucky day.

Last season, the Clippers were unbeaten in two games on Friday the 13th.

And they kept the streak alive this season as they survived a scare to defeat the Golden State Warriors, 97-94, Friday night before 5,760 fans at the Sports Arena.

It was the first time that the Clippers had beaten the Warriors in 10 games, dating back to Dec. 18, 1985.

You could go crazy trying to figure out the Clippers.

They’re more schizophrenic than Jason of “Friday the 13th” fame.

The Clippers looked dreadful in a 29-point loss to the Lakers Thursday night at the Forum. But they looked like a decent team as they hung on to beat the Warriors for their second win in five games this season.

“I felt humiliated last night when we lost to the Lakers,” said Clipper forward Michael Cage, who had a game-high 16 rebounds and scored 12 points. “This is pretty uncharacteristic of a Clipper team to come back after a big loss.”

Guard Mike Woodson led the Clippers with 33 points, including 20 in the second half.

Woodson got hot in the third quarter, scoring 15 points. He had 11 consecutive points in the third period as the Clippers took a 77-67 lead into the final period.

“When Woody gets things going, he’s hard to stop,” Clipper rookie Reggie Williams said of Woodson.

Woodson had his biggest game last season on a Friday the 13th, scoring a season-high 37 points in a win over San Antonio.

“I like Friday the 13th,” Woodson said. “Last year, we probably would have blown a game like this. But we held under the pressure. We have a different attitude this year because we only won 12 games last year. When you go 12-70, your attitude better be different.”

Williams started at forward in place of injured rookie Joe Wolf,who sat out the game with a sprained right ankle, and scored 20 points.

Williams also made a key basket with 16 seconds left to give the Clippers a 95-92 lead.

“I saw three defenders coming over so I just put it up high on the glass, and it went in,” Williams said of the shot that sealed the victory for Los Angeles.

Said Warrior Coach George Karl: “Reggie made an unbelievable shot to beat us. I can’t fault anything on my team. We worked hard and hustled our butts off. The ball has just been bouncing the wrong way.”

Center Benoit Benjamin, who has played well at home and poorly on the road, scored 14 points, pulled down 8 rebounds and passed off for 4 assists in his second start this season.

Benjamin was also a force in the middle, blocking 7 shots, including 4 in the first half.

Benjamin, who refused to speak to reporters after the Clippers beat Utah Tuesday night, broke his silence after they won their second straight home game.

“I wanted to make a good showing for the home fans,” Benjamin said. “If I can play good at home, that will satisfy me.”

Woodson said he noticed a change in Benjamin’s attitude.

“Ben played well,” Woodson said. “He wanted the ball down low. I mean he wanted the ball.”

Guard Eric (Sleepy) Floyd led Golden State with 19 points, including 8 in the fourth period. Floyd also had 10 assists. Forward Ben McDonald added 16 points. Center J.B. Carroll had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Warriors are off to a slow start, losing four of their first five games this season.

The Clippers, who led by as many as 15 points in the first half, almost blew the game.

They went 10 minutes 24 seconds without a field goal in the fourth period before Williams broke the dry spell. The Clippers shot just 21.4% in the final period, making 3 of 14 shots.

“That was a draining experience,” Clipper Coach Gene Shue said of the Warriors’ fourth-period comeback. “The game was never safe. We sputtered.”

Trailing, 91-82, with 4:36 left in the game, the Warriors outscored the Clippers, 8-2, to narrow the gap to 93-90.

Dirk Minniefield sank two free throws with 35 seconds left after he was fouled by Woodson, bringing Golden State within a point at 93-92.

However, Williams scored his key basket on a baseline drive with 16 seconds remaining to give the Clippers a three-point lead.

McDonald tipped in a missed shot by Carroll with four seconds left to bring the Warriors within a point again.

However, guard Quintin Dailey sank a pair of free throws after he was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play by Warrior guard Chris Mullin for the final margin.

The Warriors had a chance to tie the game, but Williams blocked a three-point attempt by Floyd with one second left to seal the win.

Clipper Notes The Soviet national basketball team attended the game as guests of the Clippers. The Soviet players are on a tour of the United States. They play Nevada Las Vegas Tuesday night. . . . The Clippers are off until Tuesday, when they open a three-game trip in San Antonio against the Spurs. They play the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday and the Phoenix Suns next Friday. They return home to play Denver a week from tonight. The Nuggets beat the Clippers by 46 points last Friday night in their season-opener. . . . Forward Tod Murphy, who was cut by the Clippers last Saturday to make room for Michael Cage, was set to join the Albany (N.Y) Patroons of the Continental Basketball Assn., but he came down with a case of mononucleosis.