Clippers Trounced by Phoenix

Don Casey took his case to the masses, turning to a portion of the Sports Arena crowd that had been screaming for Quintin Dailey to be sent into the game. With hands raised, Casey pleaded for understanding.

“He’s sick,� the Clipper coach shouted to the group seated not far from the bench.

Dailey, still bothered by root canal surgery he underwent last Thursday, was not the only ailing Clipper Saturday night. Tom Garrick played 32 minutes despite feeling dizzy, and Gary Grant missed almost the entire second half because of the flu.

All in all, it was a bad night for the Clippers, who were beaten, 115-97, by the Phoenix Suns.

With a crowd of 10,459 on hand, the Clippers--looking for their eighth win in 13 games--trailed by only two points at 61-59 when Grant left the game with 9:26 to play in the third quarter. He went right home, apparently taking with him his team’s chances of beating the Suns.

The Clippers, who once led by 11 points in the first quarter, never came close again. Phoenix, which moved within 1 1/2 games of the first-place Lakers in the Pacific Division and three games ahead of Utah for the second-best record in the Western Conference, led by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter.

“We made some very, very poor decisions in the second half,� Casey said after the Clippers dropped to 18-56. “You can’t do that against a team that’s (as) opportunistic (as) the Suns. It was almost like we were coasting through the second half. It’s a shame, because I thought we could have won.�

Ken Norman, who finished with a team-high 21 points, put it more succinctly: “We were real flat once Gary went out.�

Reggie Williams, someone who is all too familiar with injuries and sickness after having missed 10 of the previous 17 games, played 28 minutes, his most since Feb. 21. Williams responded by making eight of 12 shots and scoring 18 points.

“I felt confident,� he said. “From the yo-yoing I was getting before, my confidence was way down. But I’m better now. I’m letting it all hang out.�

The Suns (49-26) got their usual lift from Kevin Johnson. He finished with a 29 points, including 13 of 13 at the free-throw line, and 12 assists. Eddie Johnson also had 29 points.

Clipper Notes

Although the final decision will not be known until Monday, indications are that Charles Smith will not need arthroscopic surgery on his left knee after the season, Dr. Tony Daly, the Clipper team physician said. . . . Phoenix guard Kevin Johnson could become only the fifth player in National basketball Assn. history to average 20 points and 10 assists in the same season. Oscar Robertson, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson and Nate Archibald are the others. Johnson went into Saturday’s game averaging 12.2 assists--he could go the final six contests without another assist and still break 10.0--and 20.4 points. . . . The 133 points they scored in Thursday’s win over Portland was the most by the Clippers in a non-overtime game since March 18, 1985. . . . Ken Bannister, the 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward-center signed to a 10-day contract, made quite an impression in his Clipper debut Thursday. He bulled his way to six points and four rebounds in 14 minutes, showing from the start that he isn’t on the roster for finesse. “I think that’s a safe assumption at this point,� Coach Don Casey said, smiling. Casey, however, wasn’t so clear while addressing Bannister. In the heat of the action, the coach repeatedly called him Roger, as in Roger Bannister, the first person to break four minutes in the mile.