After hard foul, Gallinari plays through pain
Danilo Gallinari drove to the basket midway through the second quarter Sunday afternoon and absorbed a hard foul on the play, forcing him to put his right hand down as he fell to the Staples Center court.
When Gallinari tried to get up after bracing his fall and sliding to a stop, his Clippers teammates sitting on the bench, from DeAndre Jordan to Patrick Beverley to Boban Marjanovic, rushed over to pick up Gallinari because they were concerned about the forward’s injured hand.
Gallinari was playing in his second game after missing the previous 18 because of a nondisplaced fracture. He said after the game that there still was some pain in his shooting hand.
“Especially tonight after I fall, it didn’t feel good,” Gallinari said. “And then in the second half, I was feeling constant pain. But we all got to fight for the same goal and for the same thing.”
Gallinari got up after he was knocked down and made both free throws.
But he had a tough shooting night. He missed eight of his nine shots and finished with seven points to go along with six rebounds.
Gallinari was asked whether his rhythm remains off because he had been out for almost five weeks recovering from the hand injury.
“I guess so. I don’t know,” he said.
“Every game I try. Hopefully the next game it will work a little better. It’s not easy, but we are all fighting for the same goal.”
Teodosic on mend
The initial report said that guard Milos Teodosic was out indefinitely and would be reevaluated in two weeks after he tore the plantar fascia in his left foot.
That meant he might not return until the playoffs, if the Clippers make it, of course. The NBA regular season ends April 11.
But coach Doc Rivers sounded optimistic about Teodosic playing sooner.
“I’m not hopeful a lot, but I’m hopeful that we can make the playoffs and then we can get him,” Rivers said. “I guess there’s a chance he can play in a couple of games before then. But that injury, honestly, even though they say there’s a chance, I don’t know if I believe that until I see him.”