CLIPPERS ENJOY DAY IN THE SUN\CLIPPERS 105, PHOENIX 100.

Byline: Scott Wolf Daily News Staff Writer

The odds were stacked in their favor, but the Clippers' exuberance would not be diminished by a detail as small as surrounding circumstances.

This win was pleasurable enough that a beaming Brian Williams turned around and pointed at a heckler behind the Clippers bench, before the contest had even concluded.

The normally stoic Lamond Murray raised his arms up in the air while the always emotional Bo Outlaw jumped into the arms of teammate Keith Tower.

That was the magnitude - for the players - of their 105-100 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, the Clippers' first-ever at America West Arena.

So the Suns were without injured starters Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson and John "Hot Rod" Williams. So Phoenix made only 27 of 46 free throws (58.7 percent). So Phoenix had lost at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves last week.

A victory over the Suns, especially on the road, easily outdistanced the potentially devastating alternative of losing to a depleted Phoenix team, down to six healthy players by game's end.

"People are going to say, 'How bad do the Suns have to be to get beat by the Clippers?' " Williams said. "If we are the Paper Clips, we stapled them tonight. For us to hold our composure and come back again on the road just shows how much this team has grown."

As unlikely as a Clipper victory in Phoenix has become (6-24 since October of 1984), the manner it was achieved was even rarer.

The Clippers (14-20) overcame technical fouls on Malik Sealy and Loy Vaught in the final 90 seconds, then relied on Outlaw to make a pair of free throws with 27 seconds left and L.A. holding a 101-100 advantage.

Outlaw, with his 39-percent average and awkward shooting style, calmly sank both shots to provide the cushion critical for the victory.

"It wasn't anything. I was just there," said Outlaw, who had not helped win a game with his free-throw shooting since high school.

"I'm getting a physical every night out there or a heart check," Clippers coach Bill Fitch said.

The Clippers won their third straight and improved to 3-0 this season against Phoenix. Six of their 14 wins are against the Suns and Vancouver.

The brief winning streak is also accentuating the roles of Pooh Richardson, who continues to tighten his grip on the starting point guard position, and reserve forward Rodney Rogers.

Rogers, whose return from a sprained ankle coincided with the winning streak, had 17 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high eight assists. Richardson had a season-high 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting and played 39 minutes, including the entire fourth quarter.

"If we'd lost to them, then what?" said Richardson, who had 21 points. "It would have been worse. When we lose they never say we're young and immature. They just say we lost."

Unless the opponent is Phoenix.

Notes: Former Clipper Logan Vander Velden, who was cut last week, has joined the Connecticut Pride of the CBA. . . . Stanley Roberts, who accompanied the team on its two-game road trip, participated in Tuesday's shootaround. Besides his severely sprained ankle, his jaw is still numb from the removal of four wisdom teeth. . . . The hot talk in Phoenix is that Charles Barkley is on the trading block. . . . A.C. Green had a career-high 20 rebounds.