Suns at Clippers
The sliding Los Angeles Clippers hope to get star guard Chris Paul back in the lineup when they host the Phoenix Suns on Monday. Paul has missed five of the last six games with a hamstring issue, including Saturday's 114-88 loss at Oklahoma City which extended the Clippers' losing streak to six.
That's the franchise's longest skid since a nine-gamer early in the 2010-11 season and the last two defeats have come by an average of 25 points, but coach Doc Rivers is trying to stay positive during an injury-riddled stretch. "So my job right now is to get us through this. This is a heavy hit for us," he told reporters after the loss to the Thunder. "We're losing games. We're dropping places in the standings. It's all good. It really is." The Suns have also continued to drop places in the standings and entered 2017 tied with Dallas for last place in the Western Conference. They opened their two-game road trip with a 91-86 loss at Utah on Saturday.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE SUNS (10-24): Soon after returning from a head injury midway through December, forward T.J. Warren had a four-game stretch in which he averaged 18 points and five rebounds, but he ended the year on a sour note. The North Carolina State product was held scoreless in 19 minutes against the Jazz and shot 2-for-14 from the floor over his final two games of December while also missing his only two foul shots. Guard Devin Booker scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half two games ago against Toronto and then put up 18 of his 20 in the first half at Utah.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (22-14): Shooting guard J.J. Redick has been off the mark in two games since returning from a hamstring injury, making 5-of-18 shots overall and 3-of-12 from 3-point range. The rest of the crew has not been able to pick up the slack, as veteran perimeter players Jamal Crawford and Wesley Johnson combined to go 0-for-5 against the Thunder and Johnson played only two minutes due to an ankle issue. The Clippers are 0-5 this season without Paul after going 3-5 with him absent from the lineup in 2015-16.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Clippers have won six straight meetings at home.
2. Booker missed a loss at Los Angeles earlier in the season due to a sprained toe.
3. Clippers C DeAndre Jordan has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in six straight games, tied for his longest streak this season.