Roberts Throws Weight Around

DENVER —  Gasping for air when he flopped onto the bench at the end of the third quarter of Tuesday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets, Clipper center Stanley Roberts put an oxygen mask over his mouth and inhaled deeply.

Playing in the thin air of the Mile High City, Roberts, who has asthma and reported to training camp overweight and out of shape, had every right to be exhausted.

Roberts, who has missed 151 games over the last three seasons due to Achilles’ tendon injuries, had 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in 29 minutes as a reserve as the Clippers overcame a 12-point deficit and defeated the Nuggets, 82-78, before 10,190 at McNichols Arena.

“Welcome back Mr. Roberts,” Clipper Coach Bill Fitch said. “He played a great game. That’s just the touch of the iceberg. If he’ll take it from here the guy can be a real force.

“We had to rest him a couple times; he used up a bottle of oxygen. If the guy gets in shape he’s going to be an even bigger force than he was tonight. I’m so happy for him because this may be the first time he’s seen anything positive come out of hard work. Maybe he’ll stay at it now.”

Roberts had nine points and three rebounds in the final quarter as the Clippers, who trailed by 72-64, outscored the Nuggets 18-6 in the final eight minutes.

“It was hard to breathe here because it’s a mile high and I have asthma, so they kept that tank on the side for me,” Roberts said. “I’m not where I want to be yet. I’ve still got a lot of work to do. I’ll just keep pushing and working at it.

“I didn’t think I could do this. I knew it was going to come, but I didn’t think it was going to come this soon.”

Roberts, who missed five of seven shots in a 95-90 loss to the Utah Jazz last Saturday at the Sports Arena, made eight of 12 shots to help the Clippers get off to their best start since 1991, when they won four of their first five games.

“In the last game I tried to prove something and I tried to do too much,” Roberts said. “I didn’t have my legs and my back was sore, but today Brent Barry told me just to be patient and that’s what I did.”

Clipper center Kevin Duckworth, who had one points one one rebound in 15 minutes, thought Roberts played a superb game.

“I’m not surprised, people talk about him not being in shape, but part of my job is to push him and get him right for the team,” Duckworth said. “If Stanley’s right, the whole team is right.”

With the Clippers trailing by 78-77 after Dale Ellis, who had 25 points in 33 minutes as reserve, made a three-point shot and a free throw with 1:57 remaining for a rare four-point play when he was fouled by Terry Dehere, Roberts made a free throw with 1:45 remaining to tie it and the Clippers made four of six free throws to seal the win.