Clippers Rally, Then Follow Form

Well, anyway, they’re one day closer to the off-season.

An announced crowd of 8,815 came to see the Clippers on Thursday night and--surprise!--a basketball game broke out.

But it ended the way 60 had before it, in a 99-95 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Sports Arena.

The Clippers started the fourth quarter eight points behind, then charged into a six-point lead with an improbable rally led by long-buried point guard Pooh Richardson.

But they came from ahead when Portland’s Rasheed Wallace made three shots in a row in the last three minutes to put the Trail Blazers into a 91-88 lead that they never lost.

“It’s like anything else,” Clipper Coach Bill Fitch said. “You’ve got to do the same things to finish as you do to come back. Our guys give it their best shot. This time of year, with the things they’ve been through, that’s all you can ask of them.

“We just didn’t make our free throws. In protecting that lead, we missed five free throws [three of four, actually, all by Maurice Taylor]. If you make those free throws, that’s another two times they’ve got to go down the court before they can catch you.”

The loss was the Clippers’ sixth in a row and 11th in 12 games.

Portland led by as many as 11 points late in the third quarter, but the Clippers hung in behind James Robinson, who made three three-point baskets in the third to score nine of his 20 points.

Lamond Murray also had 20 for the Clippers.

They rallied in the fourth quarter, starting with an 8-0 run with Richardson scoring the first five points. The Clippers took the lead, 79-77, on a three-point basket by Murray with 7:43 to play.

The lead grew to 87-81 when Richardson made a 22-foot shot with 4:44 left.

At that point, Portland Coach Mike Dunleavy put point guard Damon Stoudamire back into the game, and the Trail Blazers promptly went on a 10-1 run, with Wallace scoring the last six points to grab the game back.

Brian Grant had 25 points and 13 rebounds for Portland.