Malone Home for the Holiday

Karl Malone stayed at his Newport Beach home on Thursday, choosing to rest his aching knee rather than attend the Lakers’ game against the Houston Rockets.

Malone, who strained his right medial collateral ligament Sunday, is not expected to play until next week, at the earliest.

Coach Phil Jackson said he had asked Malone to come to Staples Center and, if nothing else, receive further treatment. He said Malone declined by telephone on Thursday morning, “Even though I asked him to come. He called up and had an excuse, he didn’t want to come to the game.”

Said Jackson: “It’s an unexcused absence, but we’ll talk about that [today].”

Malone, according to witnesses, toiled particularly hard on his recovery Wednesday, was experiencing some discomfort on Christmas and decided not to travel.

“He worked his butt off yesterday,” one team official said.

Jackson did not appear disturbed by Malone’s absence and the organization was inclined to give Malone the benefit of the doubt. Jackson even granted that Malone, at 40 still one of the game’s most dedicated players, “could use one day of rest.... He’s still bothered by it. It’s good for him to stay off of it.”

Malone had said in the days before Thursday’s game that he might not be present for it or Sunday night’s game against the Boston Celtics, in part because of his knee and in part because he finds it emotionally difficult to watch.

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Rick Fox, who had foot surgery in May, said he hoped to play his first game on Jan. 9 against the Atlanta Hawks.

After months of arduous rehabilitation, Fox said Thursday that he is in the final stages of recovery: conditioning and consistency. He is running up to 50 miles a week and chasing every available minute of practice.

For short periods of time, he said, his basketball skills and agility are available to him.

“I could play if I had to right now,” Fox said. “The last two weeks have been very heartening.”

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Fox wore a green wool hat with the words, “She Hate Me,” across the forehead, a tribute to Spike Lee’s next movie. Fox, who had a part in Lee’s “He Got Game,” is not in “She Hate Me,” but is not above the professional nudge.

“With the free marketing, maybe he’ll cast me in the next movie he does,” Fox said, laughing.

Asked why he wasn’t in the current one, Fox smiled and said, “This basketball thing keeps jamming me up.”

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Jerry West was in town for the holidays and courtside.

In the second quarter, the in-house camera found the Memphis president. The applause came in waves, as did the standing ovation, and finally he stood and waved.

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To most former Clippers, the sight of the team in their rear-view mirror is the merriest of sights. If they express any emotion at all, it’s relief to be out of there. Ron Harper once compared being on the Clippers to being “in jail.”

Not Eric Piatkowski.

After enduring through all nine seasons of his NBA career with the Clippers, Piatkowski signed as a free agent with the Rockets in the off-season. But when he looks in his rear-view mirror, he does so with a fondness for his old team and genuine enthusiasm for their future.

“Some of their guys are starting to mature,” Piatkowski said before Thursday’s game. “Lots of times in the past, they had the talent, but sometimes, less is more. They have guys, like Elton Brand, Quentin Richardson, Corey Maggette, who have a chance to be stars now that they are guaranteed 40 minutes and don’t have to look over their shoulders.

“I’m happy to see the team do good. There are a lot of solid people in the Clipper organization who have suffered through a lot of losing.”

Still, Piatkowski has no regrets about leaving.

“If I would have stayed,” he said, “I would have always wondered what it would have been like to play for another team. At this point in my career, this was the best thing for me.”

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The first life-sized Shaquille O’Neal bobblehead doll at the Staples Center Team L.A. store has been sold. Do not despair. Three remain -- at $25,000 apiece.... Peace and good will toward men: Doc Rivers and Horace Grant shook hands and chatted before Thursday’s game. A falling out between Rivers, then the Orlando Magic head coach, and Grant had led to Grant’s being waived by the Magic a year ago. Rivers is the analyst for ABC, which carried Thursday’s game.... Chris Bodaken, the Lakers’ director of video services and a team scout, and his wife Jessica had their first child, a daughter named Allison Deann, on Sunday.

Staff writer Steve Springer contributed to this report.