Knee Injuries

LAKERS AT BOSTON When: 5 PST. Where: TD Garden. On the air: TV: TNT; Radio: 710, 1330. Records: Lakers 23-26; Celtics 25-23. Record vs. Celtics (2011-12): 2-0. Update: After losing Rajon Rondo because of a season-ending knee injury, the Celtics are 5-0, including victories over Miami and the Clippers. The Celtics continue to hold off Philadelphia for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

More shocking than Tuesday's news from Austria that American alpine star Lindsey Vonn had suffered a major right knee injury during a race was the official word that Vonn is expected to be back in time for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Expected back as what, an official greeter in a walking cast? Then again, maybe it isn't that shocking. Maybe they all know Lindsey Vonn. Maybe she told doctors she would be back as they were airlifting her off a mountain in Schmalding, Austria. How do you doubt Lindsey Vonn?

Greg Oden may not be returning to the NBA in the near future, but when he does it could be with the defending champs. Or one of the worst teams in the league. The Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers are reported to have emerged as the top two teams in the race to sign Oden, according to a report on CBSSports.com. According to the report, Oden hopes to visit with Pat Riley and the reigning champion Heat within the next week. Meanwhile the Associated Press confirmed the Cavaliers' (13-33)

When: 5 PST. Where: Target Center. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 980, 1330. Records: Clippers 33-13, Timberwolves 17-24. Record vs. Timberwolves (2012-13): 2-0. Update: Blake Griffin has become the man for the Clippers with Chris Paul out with a bruised right kneecap. Griffin averaged 23.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.2 steals in five games last week. He is the first player since LeBron James, from April 3-9, 2005, to average 23-plus points, nine-plus rebounds, six-plus assists and two-plus steals when playing five games in a single week.

The return of Chris Paul figured to give the Clippers a boost, another weapon to throw at the Washington Wizards. It turned out the Clippers and Paul needed everything they had to withstand an opponent with the worst record in the NBA, L.A. pulling out a 94-87 victory over Washington on Saturday night at Staples Center. Paul, who had missed the previous three games with a bone bruise in his right knee, had 22 points and 11 assists. His jumper with 32.4 seconds left gave the Clippers a 91-86 lead that sealed the victory and pushed their winning streak to four games.

Dean Lombardi was sounding more like a general than a general manager for a few minutes Friday when he was discussing his finalized contract extension with the Kings. "Generals manage, soldiers win," he said, giving credit to players and ownership. Lombardi, a history and military buff, went on to bring up Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and compare the management of a hockey team to a military structure crafted in the Civil War era. Lombardi, who was hired by the Kings in 2006, signed a contract extension through the 2016-17 season.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — No Chris Paul for the Clippers. No problem for the Clippers. What figured to be a big challenge against the Memphis Grizzlies, even before Paul was ruled out of the game because of a bruised right kneecap, turned into a 99-73 laugher Monday night at the FedEx Forum. The Clippers won this game with a strong defensive effort in which they held Memphis to an opponent season low in points. They also won because of their quality depth and a collective effort that included Eric Bledsoe's replacing Paul as the starting point guard and scoring 14 points.

The Kings, ramping up for a scheduled Jan. 19 season opener at Staples Center, got some good medical news on Thursday. General Manager Dean Lombardi said tests confirmed the two-to-three-week recovery period that had been initially projected for center Anze Kopitar, who sprained his right knee while playing in Sweden last Saturday, before the NHL and players' association reached tentative agreement on a new labor deal. “Prognosis from Sweden was basically right,” Lombardi said via email.

Robert Griffin III kept playing when he shouldn't have. Now the Washington Redskins face the possibility of starting next season without RG3, depending on whether their prized quarterback tore the ACL in his right knee. Obviously that's a horrible situation for Griffin, and its tough for the Redskins and their fans, who finally had something to cheer again about this season. And for the average football fan, Griffin's injury and the fact that he kept playing on it most of the game helped put a damper on the first round of the NFL playoffs.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Redskins' season is over, but everyone here waited Monday for the other MRI to drop. The severity of quarterback Robert Griffin III's knee injury has not been announced, but what he said after the game indicated the injury is worse than the sprain he suffered in December. He endured a torn anterior cruciate ligament in college, and after the December injury he said he knew immediately that it didn't feel like another torn ACL. After the injury in Sunday's loss to Seattle, Griffin didn't sound so confident.