Clippers guard Billups lost for season

LOS ANGELES — Clippers guard Chauncey Billups will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his left Achilles tendon during Los Angeles' 107-102 victory over the Magic in Orlando on Monday night.

The team says an MRI on Tuesday confirmed Billups' injury.

Billups will return to Los Angeles on Thursday for further evaluation. The Clippers say a date for surgery hasn't been determined.

The five-time All-Star, whom the Clippers claimed off waivers in December, was averaging 14.9 points and 4.0 assists in 30.4 minutes per game this season.

Billups was having a huge night Monday, scoring 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter when he turned to run up the court and buckled to the ground with 5:48 left in the game. He was surrounded by trainers and teammates, but needed assistance on both sides to make it off the court.

Billups, who was selected third overall in the 1997 draft by the Boston Celtics, is playing for his seventh NBA club. One of them was the Denver Nuggets, who dealt him to New York with Carmelo Anthony as part of a three-team, 13-player trade with Minnesota last February.

NUGGETS' FORWARD MAY MISS A MONTH: Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari is expected to miss a month with a severely sprained left ankle that turned out to be less serious than first feared.

Tests on Tuesday revealed the chip fracture in his left foot didn't actually occur Monday night when he rolled his ankle in a game against Houston. Doctors said it was from a prior injury, perhaps even before he joined the NBA.

The team says Gallinari will remain in a walking boot for three to five days and receive treatment for "a significant ankle sprain."

Coach George Karl said he anticipates he'll be without Gallinari, his leading scorer, for up to a month. On Monday night, he feared he might be without him for six weeks.

Gallinari signed a four-year, $42 million deal last month.

CARMELO SIDELINED FOR 1-2 WEEKS: The New York Knicks say they expect Carmelo Anthony to miss a week or two with a strained right groin.

Anthony was hurt Monday, leaving after six minutes of a 99-88 victory over Utah and continuing an injury-plagued season.

Anthony has missed three games with various ankle, wrist and hand injuries and shot poorly in a handful of others while playing through the pain.