Clippers’ 20-Point Lead Evaporates Into 97-93 Loss

Coach Gene Shue of the Clippers revamped his starting lineup for Wednesday night’s game against the New Jersey Nets, inserting three reserves in an attempt to pump some life into his team.

Shue’s experiment was a success in the first half as the Clippers exploded for a season-high 61 points and took an 18-point lead.

The Clippers looked as if they were on their way to a rare blowout victory after they increased the margin to 20 points early in the third quarter.

But the dream became a nightmare for the Clippers in the second half when they scored just 32 points in the final 24 minutes and wound up with their fifth straight loss, 97-93, before 7,782 fans at the Sports Arena.

“Things that worked in the first half didn’t work in the second half,” Shue said after the Nets beat the Clippers for the second time in eight days. “We ran the same plays we ran in the first half, but they played better defense.”

Otis Birdsong, who scored 21 points for the Nets, including six in the final quarter, said it was unbelievable.

“We were embarrassed in the first half when we gave up 61 points, and (Coach) Willis (Reed) jumped all over us at halftime,” he said. “But we never gave up. In this league, 20 points is not that much if you keep at it.”

After the Clippers cut the score to 94-93 with 36 seconds remaining on a follow shot by rookie forward Ken Norman, who scored a season-high 16 points, Birdsong hit a leaning seven-footer in the key to give the Nets a three-point lead with 15 seconds left.

The Clippers called time out to set up a play, but Norman blew it when he stepped out of bounds while trying to set up for a three-point shot.

“We were down by 18 at halftime, so we only hoped to make a good showing in the second half,” said Reed, who has guided the Nets to four wins in five games since he took over as coach last week.

Guard John Bagley, who had just 6 points in the first half, got 18 in the second half to lead the Nets’ comeback. Bagley scored 10 points in the final period and sealed the win when he hit a free throw with three seconds left.

Shue had considered benching center Benoit Benjamin and starting Greg Kite in his place at center. The absence of power forward Michael Cage, who missed the game because he has pneumonia, forced Shue to reconsider, and he left Benjamin in the starting lineup.

It turned out to be a good move.

Benjamin had 13 of his 17 first-half points in the second quarter as the Clippers outscored the Nets, 32-17, to take a 61-43 lead at the break. The 61 points were the most the Clippers have scored in the opening half of a game this season. They shot 77.8% in the second quarter, hitting 14 of 18 shots.

But Benjamin scored only 6 points in the final two periods and finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocked shots.

Mike Woodson, the Clippers’ leading scorer, started at forward for the second time this season and had 19 points alongside Kite, normally the backup center. Kite, who had 6 rebounds and 2 points in 26 minutes, replaced Cage.

Reserves Quintin Dailey, who had 13 points in the first half, and Darnell Valentine started in the backcourt.

Clipper Notes

The game matched the worst teams in the National Basketball Assn. . . . The Clippers have the poorest record in the NBA (12-45), and the Nets have the second worst (16-43). Rookie swingman Reggie Williams sat out the game with a sore right knee.