CLIPPERS TIGHTEN LASSO ON PLAYOFFS : CLIPPERS 108, KINGS 98.

Byline: Gary Washburn Daily News Staff Writer

The Clippers locker room brimmed with enthusiasm Wednesday as the club was inches closer to a playoff spot after a crucial win over Sacramento.

Almost ignored was the club equaling its win total from last season at 29.

It's not that the Clippers don't want to reflect on what they've done without a legitimate center. It's that being in the midst of a playoff race takes a lot of effort - many players, including Malik Sealy, are busy focusing on the stretch run.

Sealy made sure the Clippers didn't miss an opportunity to gain on the Kings, scoring all of his 27 points in the second half of a 108-98 Clippers win in front of 6,227 at the Sports Arena.

The Clippers (29-36) are now two games ahead of Sacramento (28-39) in seventh place in the Western Conference with 17 games to play.

For a team not expected to contend with the absence of Brian Williams and Stanley Roberts, the Clippers have surpassed expectations by getting contributions from all 12 players.

Wednesday was Sealy's turn. His 27 points in a second half were five short of Norm Nixon's team record and his defense against Mitch Richmond helped the Clippers (29-36) pull away in the fourth quarter.

``You didn't bring balloons and streamers,'' Sealy said sarcastically about the 29-win milestone. ``It's great to have done it. But we've got a ways to go. We've got another goal ahead.''

Clippers coach Bill Fitch was so intent on the Kings that he called an hour meeting to discuss the game and erase those pleasant feelings after Tuesday's big win at Phoenix.

They responded by holding Sacramento to 36-percent shooting in the second half, including 5 for 18 by Richmond, who averaged 32 in the first three games. His 29 on Wednesday was overshadowed by Sealy's 8-for-14 second half shooting and relentless defense.

``I had to do something to stop him,'' Sealy said. ``We needed this win and I wanted to do whatever it took. I started off by hitting a layup and it flowed from then on.''

Sealy's performance was another standout effort from a team that doesn't know which player will shine on any given night.

The veteran scored 25 points in the second half against the Lakers last month, went through a major slump, then slammed home a Darrick Martin layup in the final seconds last week to beat the Clippers cross-town rivals again.

His inconsistency mirrors that of the team, which seems to pull out unlikely wins after big slumps. Fitch didn't know what to expect after Williams didn't sign a contract, while Roberts spends his customary 50-plus games on the injured list.

``With this team, the sum of the parts is much larger than the parts themselves,'' Fitch said. ``Guys who have those DNP-coaches decision's have come back the next game to contribute. They might play five minutes and nobody cares, but if you look at the game, we might not have won without those five minutes.''

Through injuries, gripes about playing time and an unfavorable schedule, the Clippers have managed to stay in the Western Conference playoff hunt by playing hard for 48 minutes.

``I think the key to them is that Bill has them knowing their roles,'' Kings coach Garry St. Jean said. ``When you do that, you can get a team to win. It looks like he has them playing together.''

And the Kings, at one point in the driver's seat for the postseason, are falling apart. They suffered their seventh straight loss and had no one rise when Richmond went cold.

Meanwhile, the Clippers control their own destiny. Fitch made sure the players were focused by distributing the schedules of every competing team after the All-Star break.

``He wanted us to look ahead,'' Sealy said. ``We know what we have to do every game and we can't take anything for granted. We're getting close, but there's a long way to go.''

Notes: Brent Barry contributed for the third straight game, scoring 14 points in 28 minutes, while Rodney Rogers added 17 points. . . . Corliss Williamson scored 19 for the Kings.