Injuries Don’t Faze This Team

Through eight seasons of good, bad and mediocre basketball, veteran shooting guard Eric Piatkowski has seen a great deal of the Clippers. He likes what he has seen recently of his current team best of all.

“It’s nice when you have everyone contributing,” said Piatkowski, one of five players to score 10 or more points in Thursday’s 20-point rout of the Golden State Warriors. “That’s really nice. It’s the way it’s been of late. We’re going to need everyone to contribute night in and night out. Teams are going to have their troubles defending us.”

Piatkowski discounted the notion that a late-season rash of injuries will kill the Clippers’ playoff hopes in the final days. He believes the team has grown stronger--rather than weaker--because of injuries to forwards Corey Maggette and Lamar Odom and guard Keyon Dooling.

After all, the healthy Clippers have rallied around one another to win seven of 10 games this month and draw within 11/2 games of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“We’re limping around, but it’s been like that all season,” Piatkowski said. “I can’t remember the last time we were at full strength.”

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The Clippers practiced for 45 minutes Friday before calling it quits.

Quentin Richardson did not participate because of a sprained left big toe. Tremaine Fowlkes got the day off to be with his newborn son in Sacramento. Richardson and Fowlkes are expected to play tonight against the Phoenix Suns. Darius Miles and Michael Olowokandi, who have sore left knees, also will play.

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After tonight, the Clippers play their remaining 12 games in pairs. They have six sets of games on consecutive nights, starting Monday against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center and Tuesday against the Kings at Sacramento. They will play six of their final 12 games at Staples, where they are 23-11.

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TONIGHT

vs. Phoenix

7:30, Fox Sports Net 2

Site--Staples Center.

Radio--KXTA (1150).

Records--Clippers 36-33, Suns 30-38.

Record vs. Suns--2-0.

Update--Another game, another deflated opponent. Two nights after giving the Golden State Warriors their eighth consecutive loss, the Clippers can do the same to the Suns. In addition, Phoenix, which put Tom Gugliotta on the injured list this week because of a stress fracture in his right foot, has lost nine of 11. A victory tonight would give the Clippers their most victories since they were 41-41 in 1992-93. They were 36-46 in 1996-97, the last season in which they qualified for the playoffs.

Tickets--Sold out.

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Elliott Teaford