Vaught Gets High Marks on Boards : Pro basketball: Clipper forward outplays Coleman with career-high 21 rebounds in 118-94 victory over New Jersey.

Superman wears a big red “S” on his chest.

Clipper forward Loy Vaught had the Superman emblem tattooed on his right arm this summer.

“I like what it represents,” Vaught said. “A good guy, strong, able to leap tall buildings. I just thought it was cool.”

Although Vaught can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound, he leaped over All-Star forward Derrick Coleman of the New Jersey Nets to grab a career-high 21 rebounds in the Clippers’ 118-94 victory over the Nets Monday night before a crowd of 8,808 at the Sports Arena.

“I didn’t know that he had 20 rebounds, but one of the coaches went up and asked and they said he’d tied his career high, so I put him back in the game and it didn’t take very long,” Clipper Coach Bob Weiss said.

Vaught thanked Weiss for putting him back into the game in the fourth quarter.

“I appreciate him doing that for me, allowing me to set a new record for myself,” Vaught said. “I shook his hand. I gave him a thank you.

“I think they look to me and I think they pay me for rebounding. I was really focused all the way since shoot-around this morning about how I was going to contain Derrick. I came to the gym with the intention of keeping a body on him and pursuing rebounds.

“To set a record like that against an All-Star like him makes me feel great.”

Vaught also did a good job of limiting Coleman, who came into the game with a team-high scoring average of 22.2 points. Coleman missed nine of 13 shots and scored 12 points.

The Clippers, who were ranked 27th in the league in rebounding and had been outrebounded in all but one game this season, outrebounded the Nets, 53-38.

“Big Game Loy played well for us tonight,” said Clipper guard Ron Harper, who had a season-high 36 points. “He’s the guy that we count on to crash and get every rebound that comes off the rim. We know we’re not a good rebounding team, but we’ve got one guy who can rebound.”

Harper, who had 21 points in the second half, matched his best game as a Clipper and was four points shy of his career high. Harper, who missed 11 of 13 shots in Saturday’s night’s 82-80 loss to the Houston Rockets, made 15 of 25 shots.

Danny Manning, playing his second game after missing six games with a cracked left ring finger, scored 20 points, making eight of 15 shots, as the Clippers (6-6) handed the Nets (4-10) their fourth loss in a row.

Guard Mark Jackson had 12 assists and 15 points.

Center Elmore Spencer, who hadn’t played in the Clippers’ last three games, started the second half because starting center Stanley Roberts had tendinitis in his left knee. Spencer scored a career-high 12 points, with five rebounds and three blocks.

“I wasn’t so happy about the points with him as the defense,” Weiss said of Spencer, demoted to No. 3 center behind rookie Bob Martin. “We weren’t getting as many blocks from Bob Martin, so I went with Elmore. He had some good practices and he made me look smart tonight. I told him after the game one of the hardest things to do in basketball is to be the 12th man and to be ready.”

Spencer was ready, but the Clippers weren’t ready for the start of the second half.

The hecklers were out in force as the Clippers squandered a huge second-quarter advantage.

Leading, 55-35, with 4:54 remaining in the first half, the Clippers were blitzed, 34-9, at the end of the second quarter and the start of the third quarter as the Nets took a 69-64 lead with 6:53 remaining in the third quarter.

But Harper, who had 14 points in the third quarter, helped the Clippers regain command.

“We came out too soft in the third period, but once we got our transition game going again we played well,” Harper said.

Harper and Manning took over as the Clippers outscored the Nets, 31-5, at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth to take an 99-78 lead.

Clipper Notes

Clipper forward Tom Tolbert missed his second consecutive game with flu. . . . New Jersey forward Chris Morris sat out the game with an ankle injury. Former Clipper Benoit Benjamin was booed during introductions and every time he scored. He had 10 points.