Paul will be out 6-8 weeks

Clippers star will have surgery on his thumb today

LOS ANGELES — The streaking Clippers are down another All-Star.

Chris Paul will undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb and is expected to miss six to eight weeks.

The team said Tuesday its veteran point guard will continue to undergo treatment and evaluation by the club’s medical staff.

Paul was injured on a firsthalf play involving Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook in Monday night’s victory. Paul didn’t return in the second half.

Paul is averaging 17.5 points, 9.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds, and leads the NBA with 2.25 steals per game. He missed a total of seven games last month and early this month because of hamstring issues.

Tuesday’s games

HEAT 109, ROCKETS 103: In Miami, Goran Dragic had 21 points and eight assists, Wayne Ellington scored 18 off the bench and the Heat overcame another tripledouble from James Harden.

Harden had 40 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the Rockets, his 13th tripledouble of the season.

He shot 12 for 30 from the field and got his triple-double with an assist to Montrezl Harrell with 12.6 seconds left, an uncontested dunk with the Heat simply waiting for the clock to run out.

“I’m glad to see our guys get rewarded finally for all the work, but that doesn’t guarantee anything,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. SPURS 122, TIMBERWOLVES 114: In San Antonio, Kawhi Leonard had 34 points and the Spurs overcame a strong start by Minnesota.

Leonard’s fourth straight 30-point game helped him become the first San Antonio player to score 950 points in the first half of a season since Tim Duncan in 2003. MAVERICKS 99, BULLS 98: In Chicago, Wesley Matthews made a go-ahead 3-pointer from the wing with 12 seconds left, and Dallas earned its first threegame winning streak of the season. RAPTORS 119, NETS 109: In New York, DeMar DeRozan had 36 points and 11 rebounds, Cory Joseph scored 33 and Toronto beat free-falling Brooklyn.