CLIPPERS LOOKING FIRST-RATE.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

Before discussing the Clippers, let me just say that I don't like the second-rate. No, I love the second-rate.

I'll take the Continental Basketball Association over the NBA and the Canadian Football League over the NFL. I'm watching the National Invitation Tournament this week. I prefer a ballgame with between-innings bingo and a Pete's Plumbing ad on the outfield fence. Dukakis and Dole fascinate me.

The second-rate is more interesting than the very best. There's always a juicier story behind it. That's why there are so many books about the old Pacific Coast League. Has anybody ever written a book about the National League?

Face it, the second-rate is underrated.

In this regard I think I've found a soulmate in Donald Sterling, the enigmatic owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. We've got a lot in common, give or take a few hundred million dollars. And I think this explains one of sports' great mysteries.

The question about Sterling has always been: How can a man who made his fortune in real estate fail to recognize that his basketball team is being held back by location, location, location?

Why doesn't he move the Clippers from the frumpy Sports Arena, where they are averaging a league-low 8,200 fans a game this year, to the Pond, the Orange County sports palace where the crowds have turned out 12,000, 15,000, 16,000 and 18,000 strong for the team's few appearances?

The theories are many but the answer is obvious. Sterling must like watching his team play in the Los Angeles County basketball arena that nobody calls ``Fabulous'' or ``Great,'' must enjoy being the underdog in the rivalry with the Lakers year after year, must like being second-rate.

Makes sense to me.

The Sports Arena does have - what's the word? - texture. History oozes out of those cracks in the concourse cement. JFK was nominated there. Martin Luther King orated there. Cassius Clay fought Archie Moore there. John Wooden won a title there.

But where the NBA is concerned, it has come to symbolize futility, or worse, lack of trying.

Which is too bad, because as much as some of us may enjoy the gritty atmosphere, not to mention the elbow room, of an evening at the Sports Arena, Sterling's players deserve better.

This conclusion was reached Wednesday night while the Clippers were grinding out a 108-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

It was an important game for the Clippers, who began the night with a one-game lead over the Kings and a two-game lead over the Phoenix Suns in the race for the eighth and last playoff spot in the Western Conference.

It was also a gut-check game for the Clippers, who had been in Phoenix the night before, winning 121-111 in perhaps their most impressive road performance of the season.

But it was clear from the opening tip that there would be no second-nightitis for the Clippers. They did not drag themselves onto the floor. No, they bounced out there and were fun to watch from the start. They did things that demanded your attention.

Darrick Martin hit an early 3-pointer and threw both hands in the air. The small crowd responded. Three Clippers possessions later, another Martin bomb, a momentum-builder. Next time downcourt, Martin drove for a layup, and the momentum was theirs.

Dull they weren't. Charles Outlaw threw some moves at Michael Smith - but missed the shot. Malik Sealy went on a flashy expedition in the lane - but ran into a dead end and threw away the bailout pass.

The high energy continued in the second quarter. Brent Barry nailed a 3-pointer and slapped assist man Lamond Murray with a thank-you. Then Barry came right back with another 3.

A minute later, Barry knocked away a Kings pass, chased it out of bounds, and called for a 20-second timeout as he sailed over the Clippers bench. With the possession he saved, the Clippers got two points.

When Sealy hit an open 3-pointer to make it a 10-point game with just over two minutes to play, he gave it a two-fisted victory salute and danced to the bench for a group celebration. They had something to celebrate.

Seventeen games remain, but the Clippers have matched last year's 29-win total, and if this keeps up, they're going to the playoffs for the first time since Larry Brown was their coach in 1993.

All that was missing from this show of spirit by the Clippers players was a crowd big enough to give it back to them. There were 6,229 people in the 16,021 seats. That's not enough to buy a winner.

That's only enough if you want a crowd to chant, ``We're No. 2!''