Clippers Waste a 16-Point Lead : Pro basketball: They lose to the Warriors in overtime, 134-131. Wilkins goes over 24,000 points.

The Golden State Warriors, the NBA’s most improved team, played the Clippers, the NBA’s most decayed team, on Monday night.

And the Clippers, out of the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, once again displayed why they are one of the biggest disappointments in the NBA as they squandered a 16-point first-half lead and lost in overtime, 134-131, before an announced crowd of 10,969 at the Sports Arena.

“It was disappointing that we had the big lead and let it get away from us,” said Clipper forward Loy Vaught, who had 16 points an 10 rebounds before fouling out. “We were trying to end the season on a positive note, so this makes it tough.”

Clipper forward Dominique Wilkins, who had 37 points and 10 rebounds, became the ninth player in NBA history to score 24,000 points. Guard Ron Harper had 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Clippers, who have lost 13 of their last 16 games.

“I never knew anything about the record until I heard them announce it,” Wilkins said. “It was no big deal for me. It was just another day on the job. I thought we should have won this game, no question about it. We have to learn from our mistakes and go from there.”

Chris Mullin scored a season-high 32 points as the Warriors extended their winning streak to a season-high six games. Rookie forward Chris Webber had 25 points and 15 rebounds and center Billy Owens had 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Trailing by 124-121 in overtime, the Clippers tied the score at 126 as Wilkins scored five points. But a basket by Latrell Sprewell, who missed 16 of 20 shots and had only nine points, gave the Warriors a 128-126 lead with 1:39 remaining.

Keith Jennings, who made six free throws in the final 1:16 of the five-minute overtime period, added two free throws after he was fouled by John Williams to give the Warriors a four-point lead.

After Wilkins made a lay-in with 27 seconds left, the Warriors took a 132-128 lead when Jennings made two more free throws with 15 seconds left.

The Clippers called a timeout to set up a play and Wilkins made a three-pointer from the top of the key with 12.5 seconds left. But the Clippers waited too long before they fouled Jennings to stop the clock. Jennings made two free throws with 7.2 seconds left to give the Warriors a three-point lead.

The Clippers used their final timeout to set up a play, but Gary Grant’s three-pointer from the left corner went in and out and Wilkins missed a desperation shot at the buzzer.