Here’s Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro explaining the decision to rest Chris Paul for Tuesday night’s showdown against the Oklahoma City Thunder:

“Chris Paul is not playing tonight. Well, he was feeling better. We got him through the Washington game and afterwards he was a little a bit sore, which we expected. He played last night, but it wasn’t really getting any better. You could kind of see he was dragging it out there. He was trying to fight through it. Chris is a tough guy and wants to be out there. We have to look at the big picture. We’ve got to kind of protect Chris, as well, and give him a little bit of rest.

“I’m going to talk to the doctor and the trainer a little more tonight. He was back there getting therapy. Hold him out and see how he feels the next couple of days. There’s no timetable. Maybe in a week, I’m not sure what it’s going to be right now. I know he’s not playing tonight. He had an MRI last week, when he did it. Bone bruise. Probably get some X-rays and things, just to double-check some things. He’s just sore. It wasn’t made worse (by playing Monday against the Warriors).

“It’s a pain-tolerance thing. It’s a bone bruise on your kneecap. You have to be able to run and move and cut and jump and do things. It’s going to be sore for  a while. He’s got to work through. We’ve got to get him some therapy.When he’s ready, he’ll be ready.”