Rasual Butler

The number one, as in the number of Clippers wins, was lodged in Rasual Butler's mind, but so were some others from his performance Monday, such as his three-for-15 shooting from the field. That's why he stayed after practice Thursday, going well into extra time. Butler worked on his shot long after his teammates had departed for lunch or other errands before their afternoon flight to the Bay Area for tonight's game against the Golden State Warriors. "I was just a little disappointed in the way I shot the ball the other night," said Butler, who was also five for six from the free-throw line.

Trades have hit snags in the NBA, and even unraveled, but the Clippers were spared additional headaches when the Cavaliers informed them Sunday morning that Baron Davis passed his physical in Cleveland. That was the last piece of the puzzle for the deal to be completed and made official by the league, meaning point guard Mo Williams and small forward Jamario Moon can play at Sacramento on Monday night. The Clippers, who have lost four straight games coming out of the All-Star break, could have used the likes of Williams and Moon in Saturday's loss to the Boston Celtics.

How's this for a capper? The Clippers may have cleared salary cap space for a marquee free agent . . . and improved themselves in the process. It's beginning to look that way, with the early returns on a pair of trade-deadline deals continuing to exceed expectations Wednesday night at Staples Center. A Clippers team that had a playing-out-the-string feel just a week ago rallied from a nine-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the Detroit Pistons, 97-91, for its third consecutive victory.

Rasual Butler was a man at work on Tuesday. His teammates rested. He resisted. Butler went to the gym and said he made 500 three-point baskets. "Actually 550," Butler said Wednesday before the Clippers played Minnesota. That's what you have to do when your role has been reduced, drastically. Butler, a starter last season and holder of the franchise record for most three-pointers made in a season, has played only two minutes since Christmas. Coach Vinny Del Negro told the swingman that the team was going to go with the kids.

This isn't the way Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro planned it. If there was one place his team was deep it was at guard, where he opened the season with former all-star Baron Davis , high-scoring Eric Gordon , swingman Rasual Butler , precocious rookie Eric Bledsoe and veteran Randy Foye . Five weeks into the regular season, however, only Butler has been untouched by injury, leaving Del Negro one injury shy of holding opening auditions...

Clippers tonight VS. NEW ORLEANS When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the Air: TV: Prime Ticket. Radio: 980. Records: Clippers 1-13, Hornets 11-1. Record vs. Hornets: 0-1. Update: Not the best of memories against the Hornets, considering Chris Kaman sprained his left ankle at New Orleans on Nov. 9 and remains sidelined. Randy Foye (strained left hamstring) and Rasual Butler (injured finger) are questionable for Monday night's game.

at New Orleans 104, Dallas 88: Chris Paul had 27 points and 15 assists, and the Hornets increased their season-best winning streak to six games. David West scored 19 and Rasual Butler 18 for the Hornets, who haven't lost since center Tyson Chandler returned to the lineup from a left ankle injury -- and rescinded trade -- last week. Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 27 points and Jason Kidd had 13, but the Mavericks faded during the last 10 minutes as the game turned into a blowout. at Denver 106, Portland 90: The Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony scored 38 points in his return from a one-game suspension for refusing to come out of a game last weekend.

CLIPPERS TONIGHT AT MIAMI When: 4:30 PST. Where: American Airlines Arena. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 980. Records: Clippers (25-39), Heat (32-32). Record vs. Heat: 1-0. Update: The losing streak on the road hit seven games with the Clippers falling behind early, and big, against the Magic on Tuesday night. This was the Clippers' starting backcourt against the Magic: Steve Blake and Rasual Butler.

New Orleans is going back to the playoffs, thanks in large part to Rasual Butler and David West. Butler made a score-tying three-point basket with no time remaining in regulation, West made the winning jump shot with 8.8 seconds left in overtime, and the Hornets beat the Miami Heat, 93-87, Tuesday night.

Eventually, talk turned to Baron Davis . More specifically, there were questions about his eventual return, since, after all, he hasn't been in a game since Nov. 9 at New Orleans. That's when Davis played 10-plus minutes, coming off the bench, and suffered a setback to his ailing and swollen left knee. Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro was projecting a Thanksgiving Day return for Davis against Sacramento, but that date can't exactly be considered firm. "The plan is to get him back here Thursday, and I won't have an answer until I see him in practice and see where he is physically and how his knee reacts, and then we can make that decision," Del Negro said Monday.

There was the hack-a- Jordan ( DeAndre ) strategy, and the Phoenix Suns tried their physical best to slow down Blake Griffin with a 38-year-old weapon, Grant Hill . A day later, the Clippers rookie, Griffin, maintained that the ageless one did not get to him. "No, not at all," Griffin said before Monday's game against the Sacramento Kings. "He just tried to be really physical, use all his strength. Him being a vet, he got calls. He got a call there on the block out. "In my mind, I wasn't thinking, 'Oh man, I've got to outdo him. He's trying to shut me down.

This isn't the way Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro planned it. If there was one place his team was deep it was at guard, where he opened the season with former all-star Baron Davis , high-scoring Eric Gordon , swingman Rasual Butler , precocious rookie Eric Bledsoe and veteran Randy Foye . Five weeks into the regular season, however, only Butler has been untouched by injury, leaving Del Negro one injury shy of holding opening auditions...

Eventually, talk turned to Baron Davis . More specifically, there were questions about his eventual return, since, after all, he hasn't been in a game since Nov. 9 at New Orleans. That's when Davis played 10-plus minutes, coming off the bench, and suffered a setback to his ailing and swollen left knee. Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro was projecting a Thanksgiving Day return for Davis against Sacramento, but that date can't exactly be considered firm. "The plan is to get him back here Thursday, and I won't have an answer until I see him in practice and see where he is physically and how his knee reacts, and then we can make that decision," Del Negro said Monday.

Clippers tonight VS. NEW ORLEANS When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the Air: TV: Prime Ticket. Radio: 980. Records: Clippers 1-13, Hornets 11-1. Record vs. Hornets: 0-1. Update: Not the best of memories against the Hornets, considering Chris Kaman sprained his left ankle at New Orleans on Nov. 9 and remains sidelined. Randy Foye (strained left hamstring) and Rasual Butler (injured finger) are questionable for Monday night's game.

Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro confirmed what has become obvious after the first two games of the season. He barely hesitated when asked whether the Clippers have an identity. "Not yet. I don't think so," he said Saturday. "We haven't put the time in together or the work in together to have an identity. " This was a day after another double-digit loss, and another walkabout at a crucial juncture. Identity? There were times when the Clippers almost seemed to vanish entirely from the proceedings, in the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday and in the third against the Golden State Warriors on Friday.

CLIPPERS TONIGHT AT MIAMI When: 4:30 PST. Where: American Airlines Arena. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 980. Records: Clippers (25-39), Heat (32-32). Record vs. Heat: 1-0. Update: The losing streak on the road hit seven games with the Clippers falling behind early, and big, against the Magic on Tuesday night. This was the Clippers' starting backcourt against the Magic: Steve Blake and Rasual Butler.

When so little went right -- as it did for the Clippers and their fans last season -- the temptation is to go overboard when there are the slightest signs of promise. The incumbent Chris Kaman , veteran of those flickers, urged caution after back-to-back exhibition wins and a fresh air of hope in Clippers' training camp. It took one word to get that thought across: Fresno. "Don't read into it so much," Kaman said Tuesday after practice. "It's basketball. See how it goes.

After suffering a knee injury five days before the beginning of training camp, Clippers forward Blake Griffin will participate in contact drills in practice Thursday and is expected to play in the Clippers' exhibition game Friday night at Staples against the Portland Trail Blazers. "I've only been out a week, but it feels like a month," Griffin said after the Clippers practiced Tuesday. "Even watching practice is rough. It's worse that I'm completely dressed and I have the uniform on."

How's this for a capper? The Clippers may have cleared salary cap space for a marquee free agent . . . and improved themselves in the process. It's beginning to look that way, with the early returns on a pair of trade-deadline deals continuing to exceed expectations Wednesday night at Staples Center. A Clippers team that had a playing-out-the-string feel just a week ago rallied from a nine-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the Detroit Pistons, 97-91, for its third consecutive victory.

A new draft pick will join the Clippers this summer, probably of the bouncing-ball variety. The team also hopes to add a healthy Blake Griffin and, if its sales pitch hits the mark, a prime free agent. Until then, the trio of reinforcements who arrived Monday night at Staples Center will have to do. Baron Davis returned from a sore lower back and Drew Gooden and Travis Outlaw made their Clippers debuts a success during a 98-94 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. Clippers center Chris Kaman made two free throws with 1 minute 38 seconds left to break an 89-89 tie and, after Charlotte's Raymond Felton missed a three-point attempt, Eric Gordon made an off-balance runner in the lane to give the Clippers a four-point cushion.