Clippers Lose 9th Straight, 117-103 : Reggie Williams Plays Only 7 Minutes and Has 0 Points

PHILADELPHIA â€”  Things aren’t going well for either the Clippers or their top draft pick, Reggie Williams.

Williams played only seven minutes and didn’t score a point Friday night as the Clippers lost their ninth straight game, 117-103, to the Philadelphia 76ers at the Spectrum.

Williams, who lost his starting spot at small forward to Joe Wolf Tuesday night in Milwaukee, was on the bench for the first three quarters as the Clippers lost for the 11th time in 12 games.

“I don’t see any justification for it,� Williams said about his lack of playing time. “But Gene (Shue) is the coach, and I’ve got to do what he wants. I’m a little upset, but you’ve got to take the good with the bad.

“If he (Shue) wants to use me like this, so be it. I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.�

Shue said he didn’t use Williams until the end of the game because he’s trying to convert Williams to point guard, and he hasn’t learned the new plays yet. Shue was oblivious to the chant of fans near the Clippers’ bench who pleaded with him to use Williams, a popular ex-Georgetown star, earlier in the game.

“It’s no fault of his own,� Shue said of Williams. “He’s already learned the three and two spots (small forward and shooting guard).�

Williams said he can’t learn a new position sitting on the bench.

“You don’t teach anyone to play point guard in a game. You do it in practice,� Williams said. “He (Shue) never came to me and said anything.�

Williams’ scoring average has been falling faster than the snow that blanketed the East Coast Friday.

Williams is mired in a miserable slump, hitting just 9 of 47 shots (19.1%) in his last 5 games. He continued to struggle against the 76ers, failing to score for the fifth time in 29 games. He didn’t attempt a shot.

“I don’t think I’m playing that badly,� said Williams, who is averaging 5.7 points in his last 5 games. “I’m struggling shooting, but I can still play defense and rebound.�

Although Williams is disgruntled, Shue made peace with Benoit Benjamin, the center of controversy for the last two games.

Benjamin regained his spot in the starting lineup after one game as a reserve. Benjamin, who was benched in Milwaukee, played just 15 minutes as a substitute in the Clippers’ next game, a loss in Cleveland.

The Clippers held a 3 1/2-hour closed-door team meeting Thursday night, and Benjamin returned to the lineup with a new attitude against the 76ers.

Benjamin played with renewed confidence and enthusiasm, but the end result was the same as the Clippers dropped the fifth game of their seven-game, 13-day trip against Eastern Conference teams. They have lost a season-high eight straight road games.

“For us to have any chance of winning, I have to produce, and that’s what we talked about in the meeting last night,� Benjamin said. “It’s not going to happen overnight, but I think this is the start of a turnaround for me. I haven’t forgotten what happened to me, but Gene’s an experienced coach and he knows what it takes to win.

“I wasn’t having any fun playing games. But tonight I went out there and played hard and tried to rebound and block shots.�

The enigmatic 7-foot center scored 8 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and blocked 2 shots in 39 minutes against the 76ers. Shue shook Benjamin’s hand after he left the game late in the final quarter and praised him during a postgame press conference.

“I think he was a little more active tonight,� Shue said of Benjamin. “We’re starting over with Ben and the team.�

Benjamin and the Clippers played well in the first half, taking a 55-54 lead at halftime as guard Darnell Valentine scored 11 of his season-high 19 points in the first two quarters.

The Clippers blitzed the 76ers, 21-11, at the end of the second quarter after Charles Barkley left the game with a sprained right ankle.

Barkley, however, returned to ignite a 19-5 Philadelphia rally in the final 4:24 of the third quarter, which crushed the Clippers (8-21). Gerald Henderson tossed in a 47-foot hook shot at end of the quarter.

Barkley, who had game highs of 27 points and 13 rebounds, scored 17 points in the third period as the 76ers (15-15) won their third straight game after an 0-5 slump.

“Barkley was phenomenal,� Shue said. “We just couldn’t do anything to stop him.�

With the score tied, 73-73, Barkley began the 76ers’ surge by scoring 8 consecutive points and he wound up with 10 points in the 12-0 spurt that lasted 2 minutes 4 seconds.

“We got our fast break going,� Barkley said. “We wanted to get the game speeded up. I was more aggressive (during the spurt).�

Barkley, who had been on a self-imposed vacation from the media after he criticized his teammates following a loss to the Lakers at the Forum last week (a game from which he was ejected), ended his silence.

“Maybe I was getting too much publicity,� Barkley said. “I just needed to get back to business. I had been struggling and I needed to get things together.�

Clipper Notes The Clippers play the Washington Bullets tonight at the Capital Centre in Landover, Md. The Clippers bussed out of Philadelphia immediately after the game. Tonight’s game is a homecoming for Reggie Williams, who starred at Georgetown. . . . Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor flew to Baton Rouge, La., to attend the funeral of Pete Maravich. Baylor coached Maravich with the New Orleans Jazz. . . . Center Benoit Benjamin’s slump coincides with the Clippers’ slide. The Clipper losing streak began against the Lakers, when Benjamin threw a temper tantrum and kicked over an ice bucket after he was benched by Coach Gene Shue for not going to the boards. Benjamin averaged 12.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and shot 53.5% from the field in the first 20 games. But he has averaged just 6.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and shot 38.8% during the slump. Benjamin was the league leader in blocked shots, but he has also slacked off in that area as well. Benjamin blocked 89 shots in the first 24 games, but he has just 4 blocks in the last 4 games.

Clipper guard Darnell Valentine, who made 8 of 12 shots in the loss to the 76ers, said he’s shooting better since he got new contact lenses. “I’m nearsighted,� Valentine said. “I had contacts earlier, but they weren’t as comfortable as my new ones. I can see a lot better. It’s nice to be able to see what everyone else is seeing.� . . . Guard Andrew Toney, who was suspended Monday by the 76ersfor breaking team rules, will be reinstated for tonight’s game here against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Toney left the team without permission last week in Portland and returned home after reinjuring his feet. The suspension, which formed him to miss three games, cost him $25,000 in lost salary.