Mike Fratello didn't feel much like celebrating.
Having just watched his Cleveland Cavaliers overwhelm the Los Angeles Clippers 90-68, Fratello learned after Monday night's game that his All-Star point guard, Mark Price, will miss the next 6-8 weeks because of a broken right wrist."I just heard about it," Fratello said. "All I'm saying is, I need a chance to digest it, think about it."
Price hurt the wrist Jan. 14 at Golden State when he braced himself as he fell backwards in the second quarter. He returned to sink a critical 3-pointer late in overtime of that 103-97 victory, but has missed all five games since.
The injury, initially diagnosed as a sprain, turned out to be a broken bone at the base of his right thumb. The break was revealed by a bone scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test Monday at the Cleveland Clinic.
He'll have a screw surgically inserted into the wrist Wednesday and won't return until sometime in March. He certainly won't be defending his 3-point championship at the All-Star Game next month.
Price's backup, Terrell Brandon, has also been sidelined for two games because of a bruised hip and a sprained right wrist. Brandon was to be examined again today at the clinic.
The Clippers, who totaled just 10 points in the second quarter and again in the fourth, scored their fewest points in a game since the team moved to San Diego from Buffalo and became the Clippers in 1978. As the Buffalo Braves, they set the franchise mark in a 91-63 loss to Milwaukee on Oct. 21, 1972.
"We really put one together tonight," coach Bill Fitch said. "I'd hate to be the guy who had to break the tie between which was our ugliest offensive quarter, the second or fourth. Both were 10, right? My, oh my."
Tyrone Hill led Cleveland with 23 points and 14 rebounds, including six offensive rebounds.
Lakers 108, Hornets 102
Cedric Ceballos and Nick Van Exel each scored 26 points, and Los Angeles stopped Charlotte's 13-game home winning streak.
Larry Johnson scored 25 points for the Hornets, including a 3-pointer with 60 seconds left that pulled Charlotte to 105-102.