THE Los Angeles Clippers have now lost their top two scoring options to injuries this season.

    The team announced Tuesday that All-Star point guard Chris Paul will have surgery on his left thumb to repair a torn ligament.

    Paul is expected to miss six to eight weeks.

    Paul left Monday’s game after he jammed his left hand on Russell Westbrook’s right leg in the second quarter of the Clippers 120-98 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Initial X-rays didn’t show a break, but an MRI on Tuesday revealed the tear.

    The Clippers are 26-9 with Paul in the lineup this season but are only 2-5 when he’s out.

    The team is already without Blake Griffin, who had a procedure on his right knee earlier in the season. But it appears Griffin, who was expected to miss four to six weeks, is close to returning to the court.

    “Blake’s going to be back soon,” Clippers guard J.J. Redick said, via the team’s website. “Next guy up, I guess. We’ve kind of dealt with this quite a bit lately, and we’ll continue to plug away.”

    (SD-Agencies)