Dunleavy: Rebraca Fine After Chest Pains

Backup center Zeljko Rebraca, sidelined most of the season because of heart and conditioning problems, experienced chest pains during pregame warmups Monday and was replaced by power forward Vin Baker on the active list.

Rebraca underwent a noninvasive procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat Nov. 30. It was his second such procedure in three years.

“He had a little episode, but he was totally fine,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said of Rebraca, also sidelined 50 games because of his heart while with the Detroit Pistons during the 2002-03 season.

“I just didn’t feel comfortable with having him on the active roster. I assume he’ll be ready for practice [today].”

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Power forward Elton Brand on Monday received the Joe Dumars Trophy, presented to the NBA’s 2005-06 sportsmanship award winner.

“Any accomplishments, accolades, or reward he gets this year are long overdue, and I’m not just saying that because he’s my teammate,” point guard Sam Cassell said. “When I was with Minnesota, Kevin Garnett used to get up to play Elton. He would always say to me, ‘Man, I’ve got Elton Brand tonight.’ We used to talk about every guy he played against, and he would put Elton up there with Tim Duncan. There’s no one better in this game than Kevin Garnett, as far as analyzing and studying players, he does his homework, and he put Elton up there with the best. Elton doesn’t do a lot of talking, he just goes to work.”

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Dunleavy has a tongue-twisting coaching philosophy.

“I believe, very much so, in the ‘Six P’s,’ ” he said. “If you have prior, proper, preparation, [it] prevents poor performances. That’s what I’m about.”

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Individual tickets for the Western Conference semifinals go on sale today at 10 a.m. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster outlets, the Staples Center box office, online at clippers.com or by calling (800) 4NBA-TIX.