Maggette won’t be on clock

The Mile High City is not the optimal place for a player to get his wind back.

All the same, Corey Maggette will test it out tonight against the Denver Nuggets.

Maggette, the Clippers’ leading scorer who returned from a strained right hamstring this week, will have no restrictions on how many minutes he can play. Against the Houston Rockets on Monday, he had a 30-minute restriction, clocking 29 while scoring 21 points.

Maggette said his body reacted well from playing and he would look to increase his minutes tonight. “We’re still taking precautions and all that, but I’ll be ready to go however many minutes I play,� he said.

Maggette’s main concern is fatigue, and playing in Denver’s high altitude has a way of tiring players out more quickly than at sea level.

“When you are sitting for four games and not running until the last day, you still have to catch your wind,� he said. “It’s not like it’s gone, but maybe I’ll get that second wind a little later. But I think I’ll be all right.

“With every team, that [Denver] altitude is a beast. It’s different. Being from here and coming from other states, you can really tell the difference. But you’ve got to be ready to play. You can’t worry about the altitude. You just got to worry about winning.�

Add a bout with bursitis to sharpshooting guard Cuttino Mobley’s ailments.

Mobley, already dealing with a strained right groin, had the injury flare up in his shooting elbow Monday.

He had it drained after the game and received antibiotics. Mobley sat out practice Wednesday and participated in limited drills Thursday. The inflammation stems from a hard fall Mobley took against the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 7, the same game he strained his groin.

“I got it drained after that game and it’s still hurting a little bit, but it’ll be all right,� Mobley said.

Although it is the same elbow he had arthroscopic surgery performed on over the off-season, the two elbow problems are unrelated.

As for his groin injury, Mobley said it is slowly healing. “It’s getting a little better,� he said.

With a win tonight, the Clippers (6-7) would finish the first month of the season at .500.

Coach Mike Dunleavy said he would have liked to have fared better.

“I like a lot of things we do,� he said. “We played a lot of good teams close for long stretches in games and then kind of whittled down with injuries. We got caught some places along the line with bad matchups or guys you wouldn’t have playing against other guys when you have no choice in the matter.�

TONIGHT

at Denver Nuggets, 7:30 PST, Ch. 5

Site -- Pepsi Center.

Radio -- 710.

Records -- Clippers 6-7, Nuggets 9-7.

Record vs. Nuggets -- 1-0.

Update -- The Nuggets entered Thursday fourth in the league in scoring at 105.5 points and fifth in assists at 23.0. They are also in the end of back-to-back games, having played the Lakers in Los Angeles on Thursday.

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