Clippers Give Way in Second Half

PORTLAND, Ore. —  Jerome Kersey was afraid to move. What if somebody, a Clipper defender perhaps, noticed him?

He was hard to miss at the start of the fourth quarter Tuesday night, scoring eight consecutive points to open that quarter and turn the Clippers’ third comeback attempt into a 132-112 victory for the Portland Trail Blazers. Now he will be hard to forget.

“Nobody picked me up three or four straight times downcourt,” said Kersey, smiling at his good fortune after scoring 28 points to complement the 39 by teammate Clyde Drexler. “Nobody came to guard me. It was almost like a hesitation on my part to do anything because they might see you moving.”

The Clippers, who lost their fourth in a row and dropped to 5-6, saw him, but it was too late. Or maybe they simply got motion sickness from watching the Trail Blazers take advantage of 15 second-half turnovers and steam past for so many easy transition baskets.

If the Trail Blazers (6-4) are going more to a half-court offense this season, as some have suggested, the Clippers must have missed it. Not because of speed, either. It’s just that the showing before 12,888 at Portland Memorial Coliseum looked a lot like the team of old--rebounding and running.

The Clippers kept up, for a while. Then they became Portland’s fourth consecutive victim at home. “It was a good sign,” Clipper Ken Norman said of the start. “But you have to play hard-nosed basketball for 48 minutes, not 24. They got all layups in the second half. Our effort couldn’t have been all that great.”

Similar to their last game, the Clippers fell into a double-digit hole early, first at 23-13 after only 6 1/2 minutes and then in the second quarter, the last time at 43-33. Unlike Saturday’s eventual 18-point loss to Golden State, however, the Clippers had a response.

They closed within a point in the first quarter thanks to a 15-4 run, Danny Manning accounting for three of the baskets and six of his 21 first-half points. Portland, which in its previous two outings needed to rally late to win at Minnesota Friday and then lost by 11 the next night at Denver, surged back and had a 43-31 cushion with 10:02 left in the half.

The Clippers answered again, this time putting together an 18-4 charge over a four-minute stretch that culminated with Ron Harper’s three-point play for a 49-47 lead. Neither team was up by more than three the rest of the half, which ended, fittingly, 60-60.

The Clippers’ defense was still AWOL. But at least some sign--any sign--of a Clipper offense was spotted. They had only five turnovers during the first two quarters, and the 60 points were the most the Trail Blazers have allowed in a half this season.

The third quarter played to the routine: the Clippers fell behind, 82-68, decided to join the party, and pulled within a respectable eight, 91-83, at the end thanks to a 15-9 run.

And then things fell apart.

Norman thought he was supposed to guard Cliff Robinson to open the fourth quarter. Coach Mike Schuler wanted him on Kersey. A few moments later, Schuler wanted anyone on Kersey.

At the same time, Schuler decided to rest his starting backcourt of Gary Grant, who ended up playing 42 minutes, and Harper, who went 40. Tony Brown and Elliot Perry took over. Before Schuler could get Harper and Grant back in, the Trail Blazers put the Clippers away, 103-88.

Clipper Notes

With swelling and pain in his injured left thumb subsiding, Doc Rivers might be back in the lineup as soon as Thursday’s rematch with the Trail Blazers at the Sports Arena, at least a couple of games ahead of schedule. Rivers strained ligaments last Wednesday at San Antonio, and it seemed clear he would go on the injured list and miss at least five games. But after waiting a day, the Clippers decided against that. Now, they might have their backup point guard out for only three. “It looks a lot better now,” trainer Keith Jones said. “You never would have known the injury was so bad. That’s why you should wait a day before making those decisions.” . . . Danny Manning led the Clippers with 26 points and Ron Harper added 21.

Robert Pack, the rookie from USC who made the Trail Blazers despite not being drafted or invited to any rookie-free agent camps, began the night averaging 8.9 points and 17 minutes. That he pushed veteran Walter Davis out of a job and passed Danny Young on the depth chart makes Pack’s rise all the more improbable. “I don’t think I would have believed it myself at the time,” said Pack, who continues to receive support from USC Coach George Raveling during phone conversations. “To not be drafted, to not be invited to a rookie camp and then make Portland and be playing? Someone would have had to be crazy to think it.”