Clippers Feel Heat Again, Losing to Miami for Sixth Time in a Row

Sherman Douglas scored 25 points and Glen Rice and Kevin Edwards had 24 each to lead the Miami Heat from 15 points down in the third quarter to a 112-97 victory over the Clippers Sunday night at the Sports Arena.

As 1990 fades away, it keeps leaving familiar reminders.

The Clippers have lost six in a row to Miami, dating back three seasons.

The Clippers, who got 21 points from Ken Norman and Benoit Benjamin, are 11-18. Miami is 8-21.

The Clippers had nine field goals the entire second half, compared to 21 for the Heat.

“We put the pressure on them, and they didn’t really respond to it,� Douglas said.

The Clippers had a season-high 27 turnovers, 16 in the second half.

The Sports Arena is one of only three spots in the league where the Heat has a winning record, the others being Charlotte (2-1) and Minnesota (1-0). What makes coming to this arena extra special, beyond being 4-0 after Sunday, is that it’s the site of the first victory in franchise history.

Since that December night two years ago, the Clippers have dropped another five in a row overall to the Heat. Among those is a 126-91 plastering last Feb. 2 in Florida, still the biggest margin of victory ever for Miami.

Most Clippers are well aware of such numbers. And of how much the Heat must enjoy seeing them.

“We have heard them say it the last two years,� Norman said before Sunday’s game, one of only two times the teams will face each other now that Miami has been realigned into the Eastern Conference. “They’ve said they know if they can’t beat anybody, at least they know they can beat the Clippers.�

Ouch.

“They’re such a physical team,� Norman said. “I know that’s the reason (for the Clipper troubles). And they have no respect for us. None. They’ve even said it.�

The talk going in this time was about the sudden subtraction of firepower--physical and otherwise. The Heat played without center Rony Seikaly, fast developing into one of the league’s young stars but out at least three weeks with a sprained ligament in his right knee, and rookie swingman Willie Burton, who bruised his back Saturday at Phoenix.

But the Sports Arena is the wrong place to look for sympathy.

Benjamin took advantage of Seikaly’s absence to start a Clipper second-quarter run that turned a one-point lead into double digits in the last five minutes before halftime. The Clippers were up, 41-40, when Jeff Martin sunk a jump shot from the right side, and Benjamin, continuing his solid play while regaining strength after missing eight games following oral surgery, followed that with three consecutive baskets inside. One was followed by a free throw for a three-point play.

That gave the Clippers a 50-42 cushion, en route to 57-44 with 21 seconds left in the second quarter and finally 57-46 at halftime. Benjamin had 15 points by then, as did Miami’s Rice.

The Clippers even opened the third quarter with two baskets, pushing their lead to 61-46 before the bottom dropped out, as if there was much bottom under teams that had lost nine of 11 (Clippers) and 12 of 14 (Heat) coming in.

A 14-0 charge that turned into 22-2 gave Miami a 68-63 lead with 5:43 remaining in the third quarter. The Clippers had only five shots in that stretch and only one basket, Martin’s jump shot from the left side with 7:30 left. Coach Mike Schuler called only one timeout.

In all, the Heat outscored the Clippers, 31-16, in the third quarter and had a 77-73 advantage heading into the final 12 minutes.

Clipper Notes

Charles Smith did not dress for the second consecutive game, hoping the rest will heal his bruised left thigh from a Dec. 11 collision at Minnesota before the Clippers open an Eastern road swing Wednesday at Atlanta. “It’ll be all right,� said Smith, the team’s second-leading scorer at 21.5 points. “We’re taking care of it. It’s finally time to rest it. It has been two weeks like this, so we need to get it done.�