Without Cage, Clippers Can’t Hold Off Nuggets

Gene Shue, who has rebuilt some of the National Basketball Assn.’s worst teams during his 21 seasons as a professional coach, may have met his match with the Clippers.

The veteran coach is under siege from owner Donald Sterling, who has threatened to fire him at the end of the season unless the team shows progress.

The Clippers have been playing better since Sterling put the heat on Shue, but players keep dropping like the value of the dollar.

Forward Michael Cage, the Clippers’ rebounding machine, is the latest casualty.

Cage hurt his hamstring in the second half of the Clippers’ 118-108 loss to the Denver Nuggets Wednesday night before a crowd of 8,569 at the Sports Arena. He is questionable for Friday night’s game here against the Golden State Warriors.

The Clippers (13-52), who beat the Nuggets three times last season, didn’t have enough left to beat Denver without Cage.

“I think it would have been a different outcome, but I had to pull myself out of the game,” Cage said after the undermanned Clippers lost for the 19th time in their last 21 games. “I felt the muscle tightening up. I’d rather go out for a few minutes than the rest of the season.”

Like the losses, the injuries keep coming for the Clippers.

They were without center Benoit Benjamin (sore left knee), guard Quintin Dailey (strained hamstring) and rookie forward Joe Wolf (sprained right knee) for the game against the Nuggets.

They’ve had so many injuries that they’ve been forced to sign three players from the Continental Basketball Assn. to 10-day contracts--guard Steve Burtt and forwards Eric White and Claude Gregory.

“The Clippers are playing better shorthanded then they were with a full team,” said Denver Coach Doug Moe after the Nuggets came from behind to win.

The Clippers did a good job of containing Alex English, Denver’s star forward, in the first half, holding him to just eight points as they grabbed a 58-55 lead.

“The Clippers came out playing good,” said Moe, whose team trailed early, 10-1. “They outplayed us the whole first half, and we were fortunate to be down by only three. We were lethargic.”

English, however, broke through for 18 points in the second half, including 14 in the third quarter as the Nuggets took command of the game.

“We started off sluggish,” English said. “They had a big start. I had my shots, but I got into early foul trouble.”

Shue said: “I think we did a good job on English in the first half, but it’s hard to contain him.”

Jay Vincent came off the bench to score 24 points, and center Blair Rasmussen added 23 as Denver (41-26) won its third straight game.

The Nuggets, who beat the worst team in the NBA, take on the NBA’s best team Friday night when they play the Lakers at the Forum.

“I’d rather leave (than play the Lakers),” Moe said. “I’d rather have played them when they didn’t have Magic (Johnson). We need Magic to go down temporarily. And that’s not wishing anything bad.

“How many games have they lost at home, four? And one of those was without Magic; one was without (James) Worthy.

“This game was 10 times more important. By beating the Clippers, we don’t have to beat the Lakers. If we win both, great, that’s a bonus star.”

Guard Mike Woodson scored 24 points to lead the Clippers, and guard Darnell Valentine added 20 points and 15 assists, 11 in the first half.

Rookie forward Ken Norman, who had 22 points and 7 rebounds, said: “We didn’t stop the Nuggets defensively. They hit some big shots in the second half.”

Clipper Notes

The Clippers signed free-agent forward Eric White to a 10-day contract Wednesday. White, (6 feet 8 inches, 210 pounds, a former Pepperdine star, averaged 21.2 points and 9.1 rebounds in 54 games this season for the Mississippi Jets of the Continental Basketball Assn. “I want to come in and play hard and do as well as I can,” White said. “I feel that I can contribute at the small forward position.” White, the second-leading scorer in Pepperdine history, was selected in the second round of the 1987 draft by the Detroit Pistons but was cut in training camp. To make room for White, the Clippers waived rookie center Martin Nesley, who averaged 1.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 35 games this season. . . .