Rebraca Out Indefinitely

Backup center Zeljko Rebraca is sidelined indefinitely after being hospitalized overnight because of an irregular heartbeat.

Assistant trainer Johan Wang drove Rebraca to Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood after Wednesday’s 103-100 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center. The key reserve, sidelined 50 games while with the Detroit Pistons in the 2002-03 season after having undergone surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat, was examined by team physician Steven Krems and cardiologist Jack Farahi.

Rebraca was released Thursday afternoon after his heart rhythm returned to normal, according to a team spokesman.

The Clippers said Rebraca would not accompany them on a one-game trip to play the Denver Nuggets tonight, and he was scheduled to undergo further tests Saturday. After practice at the Spectrum health club in El Segundo, coaches and players expressed concern about the well-liked Rebraca.

“It’s tough for us,” said Coach Mike Dunleavy, who planned to visit Rebraca before the team left Thursday night.

“Z is very solid. You pretty much know what you’re going to get. You can count on him in the low post. You need somebody to score down there, he can really do that.

“He shoots the ball at a high percentage at the free-throw line. He’s a good, solid player. We really like him, and it really hurts when you lose one of your guys.”

Rebraca, 33, made both of his shots from the field and scored four points with one rebound and one assist in 10 minutes against Toronto. With about a minute left in the game, Rebraca, who averages 4.6 points and 2.4 rebounds, said “his heart was racing” while he sat on the bench, Dunleavy said.

The 7-foot, 265-pound center walked to the locker room, where his teammates sensed something was wrong.

“He had a blank look on his face, and he looked down,” forward Elton Brand said. “He’s not a selfish player at all, so I knew he couldn’t have been down about his minutes, but he seemed very down.”

Forward-center Chris Wilcox, now the team’s primary backup post player, said Rebraca didn’t follow his usual postgame routine.

“He kept walking back into the training room,” Wilcox said. “When we had a meeting and I didn’t see him, I figured something was wrong.”

*

TONIGHT

at Denver, 6 PST, FSN West 2

Site -- Pepsi Center.

Radio -- 1150.

Records -- Clippers 9-2, Nuggets 7-6.

Record vs. Nuggets (2004-05) -- 1-2.

Update -- The Nuggets are atop the Northwest Division. The Nuggets lost to the Detroit Pistons, 114-89, Wednesday at Auburn Hills, Mich., ending a four-game winning streak.