Clippers, Overcoming Pomp, Circumstances, Win in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO —  As at most black-tie affairs, there were stuffy ceremonies and emotional proclamations here Friday night when the Sacramento (formerly Kansas City) Kings played their first game in what this city viewed as its baptism into big-time sports.

David Stern, commissioner of the National Basketball Assn., was on hand to toss the ball at the ceremonial first center-jump. A congratulatory telegram sent by President Reagan was read to the fans, some of whom joined King employees by wearing tuxedos or evening gowns. But then, the Clippers came along and unceremoniously spoiled this gala coming-out party, overcoming a 19-point third-quarter deficit to post a 108-104 win that silenced the sellout crowd of 10,333 for the first time all night.

Amid a festive and fervent atmosphere at the Arco Arena, a converted warehouse in the middle of farmland, the Clippers were the perfect guests for two quarters before deciding that these people had done enough celebrating.

“I like being a party-crasher, and that’s what we were,” Clipper guard Derek Smith said.

It was Smith, nicknamed Rock for his aggressive body-slamming style, who crashed the hardest. He scored 22 of his game-high 36 points in the second half, when the Clippers calculatingly sliced the King lead until they were all the way back midway through the fourth quarter.

But when Smith, who made 14 of 19 shots, fouled out with 1:52 left and his team trailing, 104-101, the Clippers turned to two veterans to pull it out.

Cedric Maxwell and Jamaal Wilkes, who no doubt have been in this situation countless times in their careers, each sank a pair of free throws in the final two minutes to help give the Clippers a 106-104 lead. Then, as the Clippers were running out the clock, point guard Franklin Edwards sank two free throws with 11 seconds left to secure the win.

Although Smith wasn’t around to personally bury the Kings, the Clippers probably wouldn’t have been in position to do so without his dominating offensive performance. Had he not missed six free throws and fouled out, Smith might have surpassed his career high of 41 points, which he set against Kansas City last April.

The win gave extra satisfaction to Smith and the Clippers because they were up against a difficult situation. The game was delayed nearly 30 minutes while the Kings were officially welcomed. And after an abysmal first half, the Clippers figured they had something to prove in the second half.

During the pregame ceremonies, Smith turned to teammate Marques Johnson and shouted over the roar: “I feel like I’m playing in my first playoff game.” Afterward, Smith said he had never been so excited about a regular-season game.

“It was all so exciting,” he said. “The crowd. The small building. The commissioner. The lights dimmed during the national anthem. The shiny dress the lady who sang the national anthem had on. All those tuxedos. It was something, man.”

As Coach Don Chaney put it: “You get pumped.”

It’s a wonder that Chaney didn’t need his stomach pumped after watching the Clippers’ abysmal first-half performance. Chaney swears he didn’t throw chairs or scream at halftime, but something made the Clippers turn it around in the second half.

Johnson, who played well at point guard in the fourth quarter, finished with 20 points--16 in the second half. Maxwell had 15 points and 8 rebounds, while Franklin Edwards overcame a horrendous first half to score 16 points and pass for 8 assists.

Center James Donaldson, who played high school basketball in Sacramento but was roundly booed when he nearly came to punches with King rookie Joe Kleine in the first half, had 15 rebounds overall and intimidated the Kings in the lane in the second half.

The Kings, who probably felt considerably more pressure than the Clippers in this season opener, came unraveled when the Clippers made their second-half run. Sacramento committed 11 turnovers in the second half while shooting 43% Guard Reggie Theus led the Kings with 24 points, while Eddie Johnson had 19 points, and LaSalle Thompson had 11 points and 13 rebounds. But even though the Kings outrebounded the Clippers (48-42), they shot only 44.3% and had 20 turnovers.

Although Chaney was happy to win--”We really needed this one,” he said--he was disturbed by the poor first half. And Johnson warned that the Clippers might not be so fortunate if they spot a team 19 points again.

“It was a nice win under very difficult circumstances,” Johnson said. “We were able to cut through all that (first-game ceremony) stuff. I think they played that entire first half on an emotional high because of the fans. They really supported them.”

Despite the loss, the Kings’ first game still was the top story in the news here. Yes, it was even bigger than the ongoing saga of the wayward whale in the Sacramento River.

Clipper Notes

Fred Slaughter, agent for unsigned Clipper free agent Norm Nixon, said that his client “feels bad” about missing Friday night’s opening game, but he added that it was unavoidable because “the Clippers have never made a real offer.” Nixon is asking $725,000 a year for four seasons; the Clippers countered with $400,000 for three seasons. “The last time I talked with Carl (Scheer, the Clipper general manager) was 2 1/2 weeks ago under a tree,” Slaughter said. “Then, I called him once, but that’s it.” Scheer has said that since Slaughter won’t budge from his demand, there’s no room to negotiate. “We’re going to wait out the weekend and then maybe start working on a creative and meaningful way of getting something done,” Scheer said Friday. . . . While the people of Sacramento were abuzz over the Kings--9,000 season tickets were sold--reporter Bob Nightengale of the Kansas City Star-Times said that people in Kansas City don’t miss the Kings, at all. “They’ve sold almost as many season tickets for the CBA team (Kansas City Sizzlers) as the Kings sold last season,” Nightengale said. . . . NBA Commissioner David Stern, in attendance Friday night, said that it will probably be another two weeks before he makes a ruling on the arbitration case between the Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks. The Clippers are seeking to rescind the 1984 trade that sent Marques Johnson to Los Angeles for Terry Cummings, claiming that the Bucks did not inform them of Johnson’s past drug problems.