Skinner Makes Most of Small Role

Rookie forward Brian Skinner is finding out that getting minutes can be tough, even on the league’s worst team. After playing an impressive season-high 23 minutes Saturday against Utah, Skinner did not play in the first half Monday against the Denver Nuggets and got in for only 11 minutes over the final two quarters.

“We’re deep with power forwards and centers. We have a lot of veterans and I’m a rookie,” said Skinner, who did not score against the Nuggets and grabbed two rebounds. “With five or six people in front of me, [playing time] is hard to come by. I just have to stay patient and put my dues in right now and see what happens.”

Twice this season, Skinner has found himself on the injured list because of knee problems and he has played in only eight games. Before the game against the Jazz, Skinner worried that his inactivity had hurt his conditioning.

“I’m not out of shape. I figured since I hadn’t played that I was, but I’m not,” Skinner said. “I’ve been trying to get all of my workouts in either before the game and [on] our off days. I wanted to make sure that my conditioning is still in order.

“I wanted to make sure that when I’m called on, I need to be ready to respond. If I keep doing that consistently, then I’ll be recognized a little bit more.”

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Forward Rodney Rogers, who sat out Saturday’s game because of a right knee contusion, played Monday and was the Clippers’ leading scorer in their 100-88 loss to the Nuggets, his former team. Rogers played 21 minutes and had a season-high 17 points. Troy Hudson, in his fourth game since signing a 10-day contract, made six of eight shots and had 16 points.

TONIGHT vs. Houston

7:30, Fox Sports West 2

* Site--Sports Arena.

* Radio--KXTA (1150).

* Records--Clippers 3-24, Rockets 21-9.

* Record vs. Rockets--0-1.

* Update--The Rockets have won eight in a row and have an eight-game winning streak over the Clippers, including a 96-77 victory early this month at Houston. Rocket center Hakeem Olajuwon needs 24 points to reach 25,000 in his career. Rookie guard Michael Dickerson is averaging 17 points on 52.3% shooting over his last five games. The last time the Clippers defeated the Rockets at Houston was Feb. 9, 1995.

* Tickets--(213) 745-0500