Although he managed to play through it in the Lakers’ 107-102 loss Friday to the Clippers, center Dwight Howard remains uncertain about the pain level surrounding his right shoulder.

“It’s sore,” he said. “We’ll see how it feels tomorrow.”

Howard first felt the pain midway through the third quarter. After receiving a pass from Steve Nash off a pick-and-roll play, Howard tried making contact with Clippers forward Caron Butler as he drove inside. But Butler blocked Howard’s shot while angling his shoulder awkwardly. After Clippers guard Chris Paul scored in transition to extend the gap to 72-60, the Lakers called a 20-second timeout with 6:48 remaining.

Howard winced over his shoulder popping. But he stayed in the game. In between some of the Clippers’ free throws, Howard often stretched out his shoulder in hopes of preventing it from tightening up.

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com