Livingston Still Waits for Calls

Although his neck was still stiff and sore after his tumble into the front row at Madison Square Garden the night before, Clipper rookie Shaun Livingston was sound enough to play Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls.

The Clippers, though, continued to wonder when he’s going to get the benefit of the doubt from officials on close calls. No foul was called on the play Friday.

“It seems like they’ve all gone against him,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “And then when you go back and look at the film, he got the short end of the stick. But that’s part of life in the NBA growing up.”

Livingston said he expected the worst from officials.

Who told him?

“I would never say something like that,” Dunleavy said, tongue in cheek.

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Corey Maggette is the Clippers’ leading scorer, which is no surprise after he averaged a team-high 20.7 points last season.

The surprise: He also leads the Clippers in assists.

“That’s what I’ve been looking for from him: the assists, the defense,” Dunleavy said. “Because I think that equals wins for us. I think those are the things that have a chance to propel him to be an All-Star type of player.”

Maggette, who has averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists through seven games, has set a goal for the season: his first triple-double.

“That’s what All-Star-caliber players do,” he said, “they get points, rebounds and assists.”