Chris Paul sits because of bruised kneecap

On the night the Clippers gave out Chris Paul bobbleheads, the All-Star guard was unable to play Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of a bruised right kneecap.

Paul aggravated the injury in the first quarter of Monday night’s game at Golden State and limped around the rest of the game.

Paul had missed three consecutive games after the injury first occurred against the Orlando Magic. He came back to play against the Washington Wizards on Saturday and looked OK.

Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said that Paul was a “little bit sore, which we expected,” on Tuesday.

Del Negro also said that there is no timetable for Paul to return.

“We have to look at the big picture,” Del Negro said. “We’ve got to kind of protect Chris as well, just to kind of give him a little bit of rest.”

The Clippers play at Phoenix on Thursday and at Portland on Saturday.

Del Negro said Paul will get another X-ray on the knee and then the team will have a better idea of how long he’ll be out.

“I’m not sure what it’s going to be right now,” Del Negro said.

Del Negro said Paul didn’t make the injury worse by playing against the Warriors.

“It’s a pain tolerance thing,” Del Negro said. “But it’s a bone bruise on your kneecap and you have to be able to run and move and cut and jump and do things. It’s going to be sore for a while. We’ve just got to work through it. We’ve got to get him a lot of therapy and when he’s ready, he’ll be ready.”

Billups making progress

Del Negro said that guard Chauncey Billups (tendinitis in left foot) started more contact with his workouts and that he’ll increase those in the “next couple of days, weeks.”

Del Negro said Billups will start more three-on-three drills as well but added there is no timetable for Billups to return.

“He’s feeling pretty good,” Del Negro said.

New Staples deal

The Clippers announced that they had agreed to a 10-year extension on their lease at Staples Center. Though terms were not announced, the Clippers will remain at the arena through June 2024.

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @BA_Turner