Clippers probably will keep Luc Mbah a Moute for the rest of the season

Luc Mbah a Moute isn’t going anywhere, which might be the best gift of all for someone who had his contract voided this summer by the Sacramento Kings and had to make the Clippers’ roster in training camp on a nonguaranteed contract.

The small forward made his ninth consecutive start Monday, an indication that his value has risen to the point where the Clippers will keep him for the rest of the season.

“I would say, yeah, that’s safe,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said.

That means there won’t be any drama on Jan. 10, when Mbah a Moute’s $1.3-million contract for this season officially becomes guaranteed.

“It’s great, especially given the circumstances of how I got here,” said Mbah a Moute, whose contract was voided by the Kings over a failed physical related to concerns about his right shoulder. “It’s good to know that you’re appreciated in some way.”

Mbah a Moute has become the Clippers’ defensive tone-setter, his active hands and feet helping the team allow nearly 10 fewer points per game over its previous 12 games than it had given up over its first 12 games. Mbah a Moute said a sense of urgency sparked the turnaround.

“Just knowing that defensively, we have to be a defense-first team,” Mbah a Moute said.

Mbah a Moute was allowing .562 points per defensive possession before Monday, trailing only Cleveland’s LeBron James (.542) among players who had logged at least 50 defensive possessions.

Perhaps the old-school measure says it best: The Clippers are now 7-2 in games he’s started after their 105-103 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Wrongfully accused?

Rivers denied ever using a slur concerning the sexual orientation of referee Bill Kennedy, who announced Monday that he is gay.

“That was not true,” said Rivers, who was alleged to have made the slur when he coached the Boston Celtics. “And sometimes I hope I have more credibility than where that came from.”

Rivers was referring to disgraced referee Tim Donaghy, who contended in a 2010 interview that Kennedy’s being gay was known around the NBA and “it was obvious during a game Doc Rivers questioned his sexual orientation and I think that has stuck with Kennedy over the years and he has no love for Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics.”

Sacramento point guard Rajon Rondo, who played for Rivers with the Boston Celtics, was recently suspended for one game by the NBA for directing a gay slur at Kennedy during a game this month.

Rivers said whenever he has a run-in with referees “it’s over usually pretty much after the game.” He referred to having attended a golf tournament hosted by Tony Brothers, the referee who made the infamous out-of-bounds call against the Clippers late in Game 5 of the 2014 Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Of all the guys, that was probably the one I should have, after that, said I’m never speaking to him again,” Rivers joked. “But it’s a human game and the mistakes I make and sometimes I yell at them about calls and they were right and they don’t hold a grudge against me. It’s just human nature and all that stuff, but you get over it. I get over it pretty quick.”

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch