Ibaka f inally returns but Clippers lose

The 7-footer is sharp after not playing for more than two months. Clippers won’t play Lakers in first round.

HOUSTON 122 CLIPPERS 115

Out of the Clippers’ lineup for two months, Serge Ibaka played like he barely had missed a day Friday in his return after missing 30 games because of a back injury.

The former starting center looked fluid in 17 minutes off the bench while finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists in his team’s 122115 loss at Houston.

The return of the 12-year veteran, who will play off the bench behind starter Ivica Zubac, had its moments of miscommunication. Expecting Luke Kennard to cut toward the corner, Ibaka threw a pass there while Kennard kept running toward him around the three-point arc instead. When Rajon Rondo flipped a behind-the-back pass to Ibaka in the third quarter, the pass slipped between his legs. Before Friday, they had never shared a court as teammates.

Coach Tyronn Lue gladly took all of the expected rougher edges. The Clippers had waited for weeks to see the 7-footer back on the court.

“He said he felt good, just tired and that’s to be expected,” Lue said. “I thought he moved well and I thought he got to the offensive rebounds, got some putbacks, rolled to the basket. I thought he looked good.”

The Clippers used the game to jockey for playoff position, ensuring they will avoid the Lakers in the first round and open against either Dallas or Portland, but little on the court felt like a barometer for the postseason. One night after a win in Charlotte, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Patrick Beverley, Reggie Jackson, Amir Coffey and Terance Mann all did not play as the Clippers slid into fourth in the West. They and Denver are both 47-24, but the Nuggets hold the tiebreaker.