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Injuries keep on piling up

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Down goes Zach Randolph and what remained of this odd Clippers season . . . and boos the Clippers were hearing could quickly turn to apathy.

That was the worrisome thought for the Clippers when Randolph, their top scoring threat, grabbed his left knee and winced and didn’t get up right away early in the fourth quarter against Toronto on Monday night.

He limped off the court and didn’t return, getting treatment and an X-ray. The Clippers called it a bruised left knee and Coach Mike Dunleavy later described the injury as a sprained knee and termed it good news that the X-ray was negative.

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On Tuesday, the Clippers said that Randolph did not get an MRI exam. That also would be considered good news. But these are the Clippers, long-standing holders of bad karma. Until Randolph takes the court in practice or Sunday against Dallas can anyone be assured that Randolph, and his knee, are completely fine?

Meanwhile, rookie point guard Mike Taylor had what was termed successful surgery Tuesday for a broken right thumb. He could be out as long as eight weeks.

Desperate times require desperate measures and Dunleavy was asked whether the Clippers planned on pulling a page out of Phoenix’s playbook and hold an open tryout for a point guard.

The Suns held a session Monday.

“Umm, I’m waiting for my spy to get film of that tryout,” Dunleavy said, joking. “There’s guys you have come in for individual workouts. You look in Europe. You look all over the place.”

This all means continued big minutes for point guard Baron Davis, and more playing time for reserve Jason Hart, who has struggled

“We’ve just got to use this break to recuperate,” Davis said. “This gives us a chance to refocus. We were establishing something. We’re close. We’re close to turning it around.”

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How exhausted is Davis?

“Very,” he said. “A lot of overtimes. Playing four games in five days and traveling. There’s no room for excuses. We just have to find ways to keep the game close. We’re starting to play a lot better in close-game situations.”

The patchwork aspect Monday did give Dunleavy a longer look at rookie center DeAndre Jordan. Jordan played 30 minutes and had eight points and eight rebounds, all season highs, in the Clippers’ 97-75 loss to Toronto.

“He gave us some good energy,” Dunleavy said. “He had some shot blocks and rebounds there. It’s progress for him. He’s played sporadic minutes, so he ran out of some gas there. As the game went on, he didn’t have quite the quickness or the energy when it got down to it. When we came back, it was partly because he was in the mix.”

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lisa.dillman@latimes.com

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