With Cassell out, Conroy gets chance to contribute

It was a homecoming Thursday for point guard Will Conroy, who was born in Seattle and played at Washington.

More than 40 of his family members and friends attended the Seattle SuperSonics’ 77-75 victory over the Clippers at KeyArena, Conroy said.

The Clippers, however, didn’t sign Conroy from the development league just so he could experience a feel-good moment in his hometown. They’re short-handed at point guard and need him to contribute.

In 14 minutes Thursday against Seattle, Conroy failed to score, grabbed two rebounds and had two assists. He also contributed on defense, especially late in the game.

Conroy says he’s ready to help.

“They know exactly what I do well in basketball -- I’m a pass-first guy,” Conroy said. “I get the ball to guys and I rebound. I’m going to just do what I do.”

The Clippers signed Conroy to a 10-day contract Wednesday after Shaun Livingston suffered a potentially career-ending left knee injury in Monday’s victory over the Charlotte Bobcats at Staples Center.

In 31 games for the Tulsa 66ers, Conroy averaged 15.2 points, 10.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds. Conroy, who didn’t play in Wednesday’s victory over the SuperSonics at Staples Center, was needed Thursday because Sam Cassell was sidelined because of a groin injury.

“I’m not going to try to do too much,” Conroy said. “I’m just going to try to help this team any way I can. Hopefully, we’ll get to the playoffs and I’ll stick around.”

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There has been an outpouring of support for Livingston on the team’s website, a Clippers spokesman said.

The Clippers on Wednesday placed an e-mail address on clippers.com for fans to express their feelings about the injured third-year player, and they received approximately 2,500 responses in the first 24 hours from across the nation and several countries in Europe.

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In 35 minutes, Daniel Ewing had four points, five assists and two turnovers. He missed four of six shots.

jason.reid@latimes.com