Olowokandi Is Back, but Miller Is Hurting

Michael Olowokandi was activated from the injured list Friday, as expected. Cherokee Parks was put on the injured list because of back spasms, which wasn’t surprising since the Clippers had to make room on the roster. Eric Piatkowski sat out the Clippers’ 97-84 loss to the Spurs because of a lower abdominal strain, as expected.

Meanwhile, Andre Miller continues to be troubled by a sprained left ankle. He scored seven points on three-for-13 shooting in 29 minutes and, later, had both ankles in a bucket of ice in the locker room.

“I don’t think he’s healthy,” Coach Alvin Gentry said of Miller, injured after a collision Nov. 29 with Sacramento’s Bobby Jackson. “He won’t say it. He’s always played with injuries. But you see him run and play and he doesn’t have the same explosiveness. He’s trying to gut it out and hope it gets better.”

Of Olowokandi’s play in his return, Gentry said, “I thought he did a great job defensively in making plays. It’s tough for any player who has a long layoff to get back into the rhythm of playing the game. Things will continue to improve for him.”

Piatkowski is not expected to play tonight against the Houston Rockets but hopes to be sound when the Clippers and Spurs play Monday at Staples Center.

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Quentin Richardson had 19 points on six-for-14 shooting and took seven rebounds in 35 minutes in a reserve role.

TONIGHT

at Houston, 5:30 PST, Channel 5

Site -- Compaq Center.

Radio -- KLAC (570).

Records -- Clippers 9-14, Rockets 12-9.

Record vs. Rockets -- 1-0.

Update -- The Clippers complete their four-game tour of Louisiana and Texas tonight. They are one of only six teams this season to play all three Texas teams in consecutive games. The Clippers lost Tuesday to the Dallas Mavericks and Friday against San Antonio. The Rockets lost Friday against the Grizzlies at Memphis. Some of the Rockets’ improvement this season can be tied to better defense. They are giving up an average of 10 fewer points compared with last season, moving from 20th overall in the league to second. Of course, a good deal of that has to do with the addition of Yao Ming. Centers who stand 7 feet 5 tend to solidify defenses.