Ricky Davis

Ricky Davis seems to be receiving mixed signals about his status as a UCLA tailback. After starting the first three games of the season, and rotating with Shawn Wills and Kevin Williams, he virtually dropped out of sight. He didn't play in the fourth game against California, was used for only a a few plays against Arizona, then missed the fifth game against Oregon State because of a hamstring injury.

At one point early in the second quarter Sunday, the San Antonio Spurs were making 80% of their shots. They were even hotter on the Clippers' end of the court, where guard Keith Bogans inadvertently tipped in a miss by counterpart Ricky Davis. It was a rare moment of levity for the Clippers during a 115-90 loss at Staples Center in which their defense provided the laugh track for most of the evening. The Clippers were especially generous hosts in the first quarter, when they surrendered 39 points and allowed San Antonio to shoot 78.9%.

The person perhaps best able to understand Blake Griffin's frustration at being sidelined up to six weeks because of a stress fracture in his left kneecap is another player in NBA. That would also be his older brother. "I think he's at the point now where he's realizing that he has to deal with it and move on," Phoenix Suns rookie forward Taylor Griffin said before the game against the Clippers on Wednesday at Staples Center. "Of course, he was pretty down the first few days.

A change in real estate, as in location, apparently was the answer to Rasual Butler 's shooting woes. The bench. Not that Butler was there long on Friday night for the Clippers against the Denver Nuggets. The Clippers used a 19-0 run in the first half to turn it around against the Nuggets, going on for a 106-99 win. Al Thornton was the starting small forward, and Ricky Davis , surprisingly, earned his first start of the season, at shooting guard. This left Butler, who was three for nine against Memphis on Wednesday and missed all four of his three-point attempts, to start the game on the bench.

Cleveland guard Ricky Davis was unable to work through his differences with Coach Paul Silas and was traded by the Cavaliers to the Boston Celtics in a six-player deal Monday. The Cavaliers sent Davis, centers Chris Mihm and Michael Stewart and a draft pick to the Celtics for forward-center Tony Battie and forwards Eric Williams and Kedrick Brown. The trade also includes Cleveland giving the Celtics back a second-round pick it received from Boston in a trade last summer.

Because Ricky Davis saved the best for last, UCLA is in the Rose Bowl. And maybe he'll get the opportunity he dearly wants. The Bruins' only senior running back rushed 26 times for 153 yards in their 27-21 victory over USC on Nov. 20, making the most of his last regular-season chance to show NFL scouts that previous statistics might be deceiving. "I think I displayed everything I've got in that game--quickness, toughness, the ability to catch the ball and to block," Davis said.

Clippers guard Baron Davis said he expects "an emotional game" Saturday when his new team plays host to the Golden State Warriors, his former team. "I definitely want to win," he said. Davis opted out of the final year of his contract with Golden State and signed a five-year, $65-million deal with the Clippers. He keeps in touch with his former teammates, but said his friendship with former Clippers forward Corey Maggette helped during the transition.

The bench numbers had been dismal in a bleak two weeks. During the Clippers' 0-6 start, their bench had been outscored by opponents' reserves, 243-135. On Sunday, though, the Clippers had a substantial edge in bench scoring against Dallas, 34-22, on their way to their first win of the season, 103-92. Paul Davis and Eric Gordon combined for 21 points. Gordon made four of eight shots, including three three-pointers. Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy spoke about the reserves' intensity.

Luckily for the Clippers, there was still ink left in their pen Monday, when they capped a frenetic free-agency period by signing swingman Ricky Davis. Davis, 28, has averaged 14.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 10 seasons. He was the only Miami Heat player to play in all 82 games last season. He is considered a gifted scorer, but has also butted heads with coaches. "There are things Ricky can do very well," said Elgin Baylor, Clippers vice president of basketball operations.

That ended badly. The Clippers, wrapping up a month of almost nothing but home games, blew a 12-point lead in the last 5:30 of regulation and a four-point lead in the first overtime, and lost Monday night to the Boston Celtics, 134-127, in double overtime. Playing in Staples Center for the 12th time in 13 games, the Clippers suffered their toughest loss of the season in front of 16,007, their record slipping to 11-9. They fell one victory short of matching the best 20-game start in owner Donald T. Sterling's 23-year stewardship.

Things were wildly careening downhill, going from bad to worse, with not much relief in sight. You knew there was an inevitable explosion the way the coach was percolating on the sideline. Had to happen. It came late in the third quarter, a huffing puffing coach angrily protesting a call, moving toward the official, and earning a technical on Friday night at Staples Center. Here's the shocker. It was not Clippers' Coach Mike Dunleavy, but Denver's George Karl unraveling while his team did the same on the court.

The person perhaps best able to understand Blake Griffin's frustration at being sidelined up to six weeks because of a stress fracture in his left kneecap is another player in NBA. That would also be his older brother. "I think he's at the point now where he's realizing that he has to deal with it and move on," Phoenix Suns rookie forward Taylor Griffin said before the game against the Clippers on Wednesday at Staples Center. "Of course, he was pretty down the first few days.

Free agency started Tuesday night, and for the Clippers, it was a leisurely day, the majority of their dealings done by lunchtime. The team extended a qualifying offer to forward Steve Novak, making the first-year Clipper a restricted free agent. Novak averaged 6.9 points and 16.4 minutes last season, and made about $1 million. "We like Steve's ability to shoot the ball and what he brought to us. He gave us some good minutes last year," said Mike Dunleavy, the team's coach and general manager.

So, are the Clippers going to leave Baron Davis in Northern California and pick up Corey Maggette and Jamal Crawford at Golden State on the way home from Sacramento? Uh, not quite. Warriors swingman Stephen Jackson spent some quality time with Davis, his buddy and former teammate, over the weekend in Los Angeles, bonding and talking about old times. Jackson said that Davis wants to return to the Warriors. "That's all we talked about. . . . He wants to come back.

Clippers guard Baron Davis said he expects "an emotional game" Saturday when his new team plays host to the Golden State Warriors, his former team. "I definitely want to win," he said. Davis opted out of the final year of his contract with Golden State and signed a five-year, $65-million deal with the Clippers. He keeps in touch with his former teammates, but said his friendship with former Clippers forward Corey Maggette helped during the transition.

The bench numbers had been dismal in a bleak two weeks. During the Clippers' 0-6 start, their bench had been outscored by opponents' reserves, 243-135. On Sunday, though, the Clippers had a substantial edge in bench scoring against Dallas, 34-22, on their way to their first win of the season, 103-92. Paul Davis and Eric Gordon combined for 21 points. Gordon made four of eight shots, including three three-pointers. Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy spoke about the reserves' intensity.

At one point early in the second quarter Sunday, the San Antonio Spurs were making 80% of their shots. They were even hotter on the Clippers' end of the court, where guard Keith Bogans inadvertently tipped in a miss by counterpart Ricky Davis. It was a rare moment of levity for the Clippers during a 115-90 loss at Staples Center in which their defense provided the laugh track for most of the evening. The Clippers were especially generous hosts in the first quarter, when they surrendered 39 points and allowed San Antonio to shoot 78.9%.

Three Clippers' practices . . . and time for a state-of-Baron address. Make that a mini-motivational address from point guard Baron Davis after Wednesday's morning session at the team's new training facility. Even for those not blessed with good hearing, his voice wafted, loud and clear, through the gym at the Playa Vista complex. Davis spoke about aiming high and competing with the likes of the Lakers and the Celtics. It would be easy to say those words have never been uttered before here.