Paul breaks f inger in China
Clippers guard is hurt in practice prior to exhibition with Hornets.
It was the kind of loss the Clippers really wanted to avoid in the preseason.
Chris Paul broke his left index finger during practice Saturday before the Clippers’ exhibition against the Charlotte Hornets, about as unlucky of a start as the team could get on its weeklong trip to China.
The All-Star point guard sat out the Clippers’ 106-94 loss to the Hornets at Shenzhen, though he is not expected to be sidelined for an extended time.
The Clippers will play the Hornets on Wednesday in Shanghai before returning to Southern California.
Sitting out exhibitions in China has become something of a routine for Paul, who sat out one of two games there against the Miami Heat in 2012 before being cleared to play after off-season thumb surgery.
The Clippers were also without Austin Rivers against the Hornets after the reserve guard told reporters he had five teeth knocked out inadvertently by an elbow from rookie Branden Dawson in practice Friday.
Rivers, who had the teeth re-implanted during a 21⁄2-hour surgery, is expected to sit out the next exhibition as well.
The loss of their top two ballhandlers forced the Clipthe pers to turn to Pablo Prigioni, a 38-year-old veteran who went from being buried on the depth chart to the starting lineup.
Prigioni finished with five points, seven assists and five rebounds in a team-high 30 minutes.
The Clippers, playing their second game in six days on two continents, surrendered 37 points in the first quarter and seven Hornets finished in double figures in scoring, led by Jeremy Lin and Cody Zeller (16 points apiece).
Coach Doc Rivers said it was obvious where the absences of Paul and Rivers hurt most.
“They’re our best two defensive guards,” Rivers told reporters, “and it showed in pick-and-roll coverage in a big way.”
Clippers guard J.J. Redick got off to a torrid start for a second consecutive game, with 16 points in the first quarter and 21 by halftime.
Once again, however, he couldn’t sustain it, getting only two more points.
Clippers forward Blake Griffin had 13 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Clippers swingman Lance Stephenson had seven points and seven assists with two turnovers in his first game against the team that traded him in June after one season in Charlotte.
Forward-center Spencer Hawes, whom the Clippers sent to Charlotte as part of Stephenson trade, had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
“I was not happy with the way anybody played,” Doc Rivers said. “I thought Charlotte played so much harder than us and with a better spirit, so it’s going to take us time, and it’s a work in progress.”
The game was as much about marketing basketball as playing it.
Lin, the first NBA player of Taiwanese descent who wore a new spiky hairdo, triggered cheers when he addressed spectators before the game.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer added some humor when he tried to say a few words in Mandarin during a pregame news conference before adding in English, “I hope that was close to, ‘I love basketball.’ ”
Spectators saved their loudest roars for Michael Jordan when the Hornets owner was introduced late in the first half.