Coach’s Fears Unfounded; Clippers Win : Ewing Gets 27 Points, 11 Rebounds, but Knicks Are 103-95 Losers

Eventually, the Clippers are going to lose their first game of the season.

Eventually, too, Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks are going to win their first game of the season.

But neither of those eventualities happened Saturday night, even though a loss to the Knicks was precisely what Clipper Coach Don Chaney feared most.

“I was more afraid before this one than any game except the opener,” Chaney said. “The Knicks were very overdue, and we had won four straight. It seemed like a difficult situation for us.”

There really was no reason for Chaney to be concerned. The Clippers, despite playing their weakest game so far this season, still were able to dispose of the winless Knicks, 103-95, before a Sports Arena crowd of 11,057.

So, for at least another game, both streaks remain intact. The Clippers (5-0) set a 16-year franchise record for most victories at the start of a season, while the Knicks (0-4) have now lost 15 straight games dating back to last season.

Although the Clippers commited a whopping 32 turnovers and shot only 49%, they nonetheless played well enough to maintain a somewhat comfortable eight-point lead before pulling ahead by as much as a 13-point margin in the fourth quarter.

New York, which is without injured starters Bernard King (for maybe the entire season after knee surgery last spring) and Bill Cartwright (out for at least four weeks with a broken left foot), once again gamely relied on their only two available weapons--Ewing and Coach Hubie Brown’s tenacious half-court trap.

Ewing was dominating inside, equaling his four-game high in scoring with 27 points (hitting 9 of 20 shots) and grabbing 11 rebounds. Maybe because he played 44 of 48 minutes, Ewing tired in the second half, when he made just 2 of 7 shots and scored 8 points.

“I felt that I made a few mistakes tonight--key mistakes--that didn’t help us any,” said Ewing, who held a formal press conference afterward. “I’m learning the game, and a couple of games from now, I won’t be making them anymore.”

Meanwhile, it was the Knicks’ scrappy half-court trap that caused most of the Clipper turnovers. Chaney, who gave the Knicks credit for forcing the mistakes instead of blaming Clipper ball handlers, nevertheless admitted that this was one game in which the Clippers could have used unsigned free-agent point guard Norm Nixon.

“Norm could have helped, for sure,” Chaney said. “We needed his poise and experience out there. I thought Franklin did well, but we needed more than one guy. When you go against a trap, it takes you out of what you want to do offensively. We were in that situation many times tonight.”

Not all the time, though. Marques Johnson had another productive night, scoring a team-high 22 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and getting 4 steals. Johnson, whose jump shot has made a comeback in recent games, made 10 of 15 shots, including several long jumpers.

Edwards, who continues to capably fill in for the absent Nixon, had 16 points and 9 assists. Guard Derek Smith had a rare off-night, scoring just 14 points and commiting 6 turnovers. The surprise of the game, however, was Clipper rookie center Benoit Benjamin, who scored 7 points and had 8 rebounds in 19 minutes against Ewing.

For a spell early in the fourth quarter, Benjamin actually outplayed Ewing. He drove past Ewing for a twisting layup and later grabbed an offensive rebound and dunked, drawing a foul in the process.

Asked if he was surprised by how well Benjamin fared against Ewing, Chaney smiled sheepishly and then admitted he was. “To be honest, yes,” he said, “only because of (Benjamin’s) inexperience and going up against the number one rookie in the league.”

Said Ewing: “I think Benoit had a great game. And I think that he needs to learn a little more about the game, just like I do.”

On this night, the Clippers were able to overlook their problems with New York’s trap and Ewing’s big scoring night. Those things did not obscure the fact that the Clippers earned their fifth straight win.

“We stumbled through this game,” said James Donaldson, the Clippers’ starting center, who scored 13 points. “It was ugly.”

Maybe so, but Smith liked it, if for no other reason than it proved that the Clippers can beat a weak team even on an off-night.

“We didn’t want to lose this game because this team (New York) was beatable,” Smith said. “We couldn’t let the crippled-up New York Knickerbockers beat us. We looked terrible, but that’s a great sign that we can still win. We’ve got that luxury this year.”

But the Clippers might not always have that luxury. When it was suggested to Smith that, sooner or later, the club is going to have to experience defeat, he cocked his head in mock disbelief.

“You don’t know that yet,” he said with a straight face. “We’ll have to wait and see if we go 82-0.”

Only then did Smith break into a broad smile.

Clipper Notes

Clipper General Manager Carl Scheer said Saturday that he hopes to talk to unsigned free agent Norm Nixon directly as early as today. “I have a source (a friend of both Nixon and Scheer) who tracked down Norm, and Norm supposedly tried to call me last night, but I wasn’t home,” Scheer said. Fred Slaughter, Nixon’s agent, said: “That’s not true. Norm doesn’t want to talk (to Scheer). . . . Scheer said he doesn’t know yet if he will tender Nixon a contract for $413,000 (his salary last season) on Wednesday. Under NBA rules, that would give the free agent only 15 more days to seek an offer sheet. “I still have a lot more things to try before that,” Scheer said. . . . Maybe Patrick Ewing isn’t as big a draw as the league thought he would be. Before Saturday night, the Knicks had sold out only one of their three games. The lone sellout was their season-opener against Philadelphia. . . . The Clippers don’t play again until Thursday, when they travel to Houston.