Livingston Finally Has His Day on the Court

Clipper rookie Shaun Livingston, slowed by a sprained left ankle and limited to conditioning drills during the first two days of training camp, finally made it onto the court for contact work Thursday at Santa Barbara City College.

Afterward, he said his ankle was tender and sore and it looked it as he limped gingerly from the gym.

“I felt a lot better just knowing that I got to participate with the team and go through some of the stuff that they’re going through, rather than watching,” he said. “I just want to ... endure some of same things my teammates do.”

Coach Mike Dunleavy called Livingston’s play “very encouraging.”

The 19-year-old point guard said he’d grown antsy sitting out.

“It’s hard,” he said, “because you want to get out there, you want to make an impression, you want to show coaches what you’re capable of and obviously they want to see the same thing.”

He was not intimidated.

“You can’t be,” he said. “If we’re all a team, you want to strive on not being the weakest link. You can’t do that if you’re timid or afraid. I mean, everybody’s going to have nerves or whatever, but you just go out and play.”

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Corey Maggette was scheduled for X-rays on his right pinkie after jamming it in practice.... Dunleavy canceled the night session, saying of the players needed recovery time: “Otherwise, you’re potentially pushing them to injury.”