Clippers Fall Back Into an Old Familiar Rout, 156-121

PORTLAND —  The Clippers are back.

Oh, over the last couple of weeks, the club did actually manage to win five of seven games and move into playoff contention.

But that may have been an aberration.

The real Clippers took the court Saturday night, and they were dutifully trounced by the Portland Trail Blazers, 156-121, in a record-breaking performance.

No record is safe when the Clippers come to town. No record for the opposing side, that is.

The Trail Blazers broke a team mark for field-goal percentage (hitting 69.7%) and tied the team mark for most points scored.

Twice in the first half, the Trail Blazers were whistled for playing an illegal defense. That was far superior to the Clippers, however, who were generally playing no defense.

You may recall the last time the Trail Blazers scored 156 points in a game. It was against Denver two years ago, and Nugget Coach Doug Moe was fined $5,000 and suspended for two games because he told his team to play no defense in the closing seconds that night.

The Clippers needed no such orders from Coach Don Chaney Saturday night.

“We are falling back into our old habits, Chaney said. “We couldn’t stop anybody. It was the worst defense we’ve played in a long time.”

That’s saying something for a team that has twice been blown out by 40 points this season.

Kiki Vandeweghe led the way for Portland with a season-high 36 points. Fellow forward Mychal Thompson had 30, and guard Jim Paxson had 24. Vandeweghe and Thompson each made 14 of 17 shots, while Paxson hit 11 of 16.

The game lasted about as long as it took Vandeweghe to zero in on the basket. Once he found the range, the Clippers found themselves on the customary end of a rout.

Vandeweghe scored 15 straight Trail Blazer points in the first quarter, hitting from the base line, the top of the key, underneath the basket, the free-throw line and anywhere else he got his hands on the ball.

In the past, Vandeweghe has been accused of being just a scorer, but he was a multi-demensional player Saturday night, getting a season-high six assists along with five rebounds.

Watching Vandeweghe dance down the court before a sellout crowd of 12,666, it is easy to forget just how difficult it was for the former UCLA star when he first came here in a controversial trade with Denver.

The Nuggets received three players (forward Calvin Natt, center Wayne Cooper and guard Lafayette Lever) and first- and second-round draft choices for Vandeweghe.

The pressure was intense.

“I was coming into a real hard situation,” Vandeweghe said. “No matter what I did, it was not good enough. How could one player be worth that much, the media wanted to know. I agree, no player is worth five.

“More is required of me here. I can not just score as I did in Denver. I have to make good passes and play some defense. It’s made me a better player.”

Vandeweghe wasn’t the only one shooting well Saturday night.

The Clippers hit 56% from the floor but were guilty of 23 turnovers. Marques Johnson had 25 points for the Clippers. He was backed up by Darnell Valentine (21) and Cedric Maxwell (20.)

The Clippers were without forward Michael Cage, who is out for two weeks due to a dislocated finger on his right hand.

Clipper Notes

No date has yet been set for the return of Clipper guard Derek Smith. But the news keeps getting better. Smith, who has played in only two games since tearing cartilage in his left knee in November, received assurance from Cincinnati physician Richard Jolsen that the pain he is currently feeling in the knee is being caused by tendinitis. That is the same assurance he had received from Clipper doctor Tony Daly. But Smith wanted a second opinion. It is now hoped Smith will return sometime after next week’s All-Star break. . . . When Sam Bowie will be back is anybody’s guess. The Portland center continues to complain of pain in his left shin, in the identical spot where he broke a bone while at Kentucky. He reinjured the spot nearly a month ago when teammate Jerome Kersey fell on him in a game at Milwaukee. A Milwaukee physician, after taking X-rays, originally diagnosed the new injury as another break. But when Bowie returned to Portland, it was determined that the physician had actually been looking at an old scar from the original injury. The current diagnosis is a bruise. Bowie has mentioned possible corrective surgery, but Trail Blazer officials still talk as if he is on a day-to-day basis. . .Jeff Cross, the newest Clipper, will take Smith’s spot on the roster.