Clippers Fizzle in Second Half as Bulls Win

The Clippers got an early start on the All-Star break.

The All-Star break doesn’t begin until Thursday, but the Clippers quit early and were embarrassed by the Chicago Bulls, 118-89, before 13,398 at the Sports Arena on Tuesday night.

Asked how he felt after the game, a high-ranking Clipper executive responded: “Shellshocked.”

He had every right to be.

The Clippers, who trailed by 58-54 at halftime, shot only 29.5% in the second half, making only 13 of 44 shots, and were outscored by 60-35.

Clipper forward Danny Manning, who had 22 points, including 18 in the first half, made only two of six shots in the second half. Guard Ron Harper, who had 18 points, 13 in the first half, made only one of five shots in the second half. Guard Mark Jackson, who played only six minutes in the second half, missed both shots he attempted in the second half. Forward Harold Ellis, who played only 11 minutes, missed both of his second-half shots.

“We just completely went flat,” Clipper Coach Bob Weiss said. “I thought we got some good shots early in the third quarter that didn’t drop and they started running on us and shooting the ball great.”

Although Michael Jordan has turned to baseball, forwards Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant have ensured that the Bulls’ dynasty hasn’t crumbled.

“It (the Bulls’ success without Jordan) is definitely the surprise of the league,” Weiss said. “They’re doing an absolutely fantastic job. The biggest difference I see is that when they ran their offense before, they ran it until Jordan got the ball. But now when they’re running it, they’re running with a lot of enthusiasm and they’re trying to make things happen. They’re doing a terrific job.”

Pippen had 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists as the Bulls (33-13) beat the Clippers (16-28) for the ninth time in a row. Chicago is 28-6 since Pippen returned after sitting out 10 games because of an ankle injury.

Grant had 22 points and eight rebounds and guard Steve Kerr had 14 points off the bench as Chicago won for the fifth time in its last six games. Guard B.J. Armstrong added 13 points.

Clipper center Elmore Spencer, who had 16 points and six rebounds, was impressed after the Bulls shot 59% in the second half.

“They just put on a shooting exhibition,” Spencer said. “I don’t think there was 20 defensive rebounds in the second half. They didn’t miss a shot in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter.

“Their excellent outside shooting started demoralizing us. We began taking it out a little slower and started to talk amongst each other. They’re just a great executing team, and they’re very methodical. They wait for mistakes.”

And the Clippers made a lot of mistakes, committing 16 turnovers, seven in the second half, as their offense collapsed.

“It seems like everyone is going in different directions,” said Clipper forward John Williams, who had eight points and five rebounds in his second game of the season.

“Last year, we were more together. We helped each other out there on the court whether it was defensively or offensively, and that’s something I don’t recognize this year with this team.

“We’re just going to have to make adjustments and get it together for the second half of the season. The intensity is up and down. Being where we are now, I don’t think we’re that good of a team where we can just turn it on like a light switch. We’ve got to come out and compete from the time the ball goes up, and we have to do that for 48 minutes.”

With his team trailing by four points at halftime, Weiss inserted Williams into the lineup for Ellis.

Williams, who skipped the first half of the season because he was in a weight reduction center, was assigned to check Grant, who made six of eight shots and scored 12 points in the first half.

However, Williams got into foul trouble and Grant scored 10 third-quarter points as the Bulls took an 89-72 lead into the fourth quarter. The Clippers shot only 30% in the third quarter, missing 14 of 20 shots as they were outscored by 13 points.

“We were having trouble inside with Scottie Pippen and Grant and both of them were size mismatches for us,” Weiss said. “That worked (because) we contained those guys, but we couldn’t score at the other end.”

The Bulls outscored the Clippers by 12-4 at the start of the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Clipper Notes

Guard Ron Harper, who had been considered as a replacement for injured Phoenix Sun forward Charles Barkley in the All-Star game, said he plans to spend the All-Star break at his Cleveland area home. . . . The 35 points the Clippers scored in the second half were two shy of the team’s least productive half. They scored only 33 points in a 98-77 loss at New York on Jan. 11.