Mobley Deals With Bad Finger

Cuttino Mobley offered the Clippers a taste Wednesday of the long-range marksmanship that landed him a multimillion-dollar free-agent contract last summer, making a season-high five three-point shots in a 106-102 loss at Houston.

Thursday after practice, his left hand was wrapped in ice.

The veteran shooting guard has been bothered all season by a dislocated left index finger that continually pops out of joint. Before Wednesday, when the left-hander helped the Clippers cut into a 16-point, second-half deficit against his former team, Mobley had made a career-low 34.1% of his three-point shots.

A newly fitted pad helped him find the mark on all but two of seven three-point attempts against the Rockets.

“I got a new thing to hold it in place, but it’s still sore and beat up and everything,” said Mobley, who last season with the Orlando Magic and Sacramento Kings made 43.9% of his shots from beyond the arc to rank second in the NBA. “It just keeps my palm clear, so I can kind of dribble the ball more, feel the ball a little better.”

But the pain is still there, and has been for years.

“This year’s worse because it won’t go away,” Mobley said, citing the constant slapping at his hands by opponents.

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Corey Maggette, sidelined since early December because of a separated ligament in his left foot, spent the All-Star break in Las Vegas rehabbing with Richard Williams, the Clippers’ strength and conditioning coach. He raised the intensity of his workouts Thursday and said a Wednesday return was “realistic,” even though the date is less than a week away and he has not resumed practicing.

“I would shoot for this week,” he said, “but they want me to give it more time to heal. ... Being able to cut on it, I think that’s the biggest issue -- being able to cut and move hard laterally on defense, being able to explode.”

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Quinton Ross, who has sat out the last four games because of back spasms, is expected to remain sidelined for two more weeks, Clipper sources said.

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TONIGHT

Clippers vs. Lakers, 7:30

Channels 5 and 9, ESPN

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 570, 830, 1150, 1330.

Records -- Lakers 28-26, Clippers 30-23.

Season series -- 1-1.

Update -- The Clippers had won three in a row over the Lakers -- their longest winning streak in the series since moving to Southern California in 1978 -- before Kobe Bryant dropped 50 points on them in a 112-109 Laker victory Jan. 7.

Tickets -- (800) 462-2849 or clippers.com.