Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
Sport
Broderick Turner

Teodosic injury puts a damper on Clippers' victory

LOS ANGELES_In a season already full of too many health issues, the Los Angeles Clippers suffered yet another problem when guard Milos Teodosic sustained a left-foot injury late in the second quarter and did not return during his team's 130-88 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night at Staples Center.

Teodosic's X-rays for a broken foot was negative, the Clippers said. The team also said Teodosic will get an MRI on Sunday morning to fully determine the severity of the injury.

He was injured after stepping on Suns guard Devin Booker's foot and fell to the court in pain with about 2:34 left in the first half.

Two of teammates ran over and carried Teodosic off the court.

Once he got near the Clippers' bench, he limped into the locker room.

Teodosic, a 30-year-old rookie who played for CSKA Moscow last season, had scored five points and handed out two assists before he left.

But despite that down moment in the Clippers' home opener before 19,608 fans, Blake Griffin continued his assault and the rest of his teammates followed his lead.

Griffin poured in 29 points for the second consecutive game, collected eight rebounds and handed out four assists in 27 minutes, 31 seconds.

He powered, dunked and shot his way into going seven of 13 from the field, three of five from three-point range and 12 of 14 from the free-throw line.

His assist to Patrick Beverley gave the Clippers a 68-46 lead in the third and his dunk along the lane, which came off a pass from Danilo Gallinari, pushed the lead to 70-46.

That was just a sample of what Griffin was providing in helping the Clippers go to 2-0 in this young season.

Beverley did his part to help out, scoring 15 points on six-for-eight shooting, making both of his three-pointers and playing his standard outstanding defense.

DeAndre Jordan took care of the boards as usual, grabbing 13 rebounds.

None of the starters played in the fourth quarter of a game the Clippers led by as many as 43 points.

That was because the Clippers reserves took care of the rest of the game _ and all of 13 of them played and every one of them scored.

Lou Williams had 18 points and Willie Reed added 12 points and four rebounds off the bench.

The Clippers defense also stood out, holding the Suns to under 90 points.

The Clippers also shot the basketball well, making 54.6 percent of their shots, 46.2 percent of their three-pointers.

But the story of the night was the injury to Teodosic.

And unfortunately for the Clippers, they have seen this show before.

During training camp, the Clippers lost Austin Rivers (left glute), Gallinari (strained left foot), Beverley (sore right knee), Sam Dekker (left oblique), Sindarius Thornwell (strained right shoulder) and Jamil Wilson (back spasms) to injuries.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.