The Clippers won their third straight on Sunday to improve to 8-6. With one game remaining this month, Los Angeles is guaranteed to finish November with a winning record for the first time since 1992 and for just the second time in 30 years.

"I felt good about it, but I didn't know if we'd do it with the injuries we've had," Dunleavy said. "Obviously, other guys have come in and played very well for us. I don't think we've overachieved, but we've come together quicker maybe than anticipated.

"I mean, everybody's doing what I kind of envisioned them to do. But being so young and new to each other, I kind of felt like I'd see this a little bit further down the road. So this is a big positive for us right now."

Rookie guard Shaun Livingston suffered a dislocation of his right patella (kneecap) during today?s practice at the Spectrum Club South Bay. Livingston was examined by team physician Dr. Tony Daly, and is expected to be out of action for at least eight weeks. A subsequent MRI revealed no other structural damage to the joint. Livingston will begin a rehabilitation program conducted by the Clippers? team medical staff and will be re-evaluated regularly.

The fourth overall selection in the 2004 NBA Draft, Livingston has tallied 5.0 points, 2.6 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 21.2 minutes during the first eleven games of the season.

Kerry Kittles made his Clippers debut on Sunday night in a loss to the Phoenix Suns. He finished with two points in 24 minutes.

Kittles underwent knee surgery in June

"My knee and my legs weren't that much of an issue. But my timing was definitely off, which was expected because I hadn't played," said Kittles, who came over from New Jersey in the offseason. "The leg feels pretty good right now, and it's just a matter of getting my rhythm back on the court and learning to play with these guys."

Kerry Kittles, sidelined because of a sore right knee, fully participated in practice with his new team for the first time since the July trade that brought him from the New Jersey Nets, and Chris Kaman said he hoped to make his season debut Saturday against the Houston Rockets.

Kittles declined to speculate as to when he might play, but he'd told teammates earlier this month that he hoped to return on Thanksgiving, and Coach Mike Dunleavy said Monday, "Hopefully, after seeing him today, it's before Thanksgiving."

Kittles had been limited physically since arthroscopic knee surgery in June to clean out scar tissue but said he'd started jogging more than a week ago.

"I thought it was time to get out there and see what I could do," he said after Monday's session at L.A. Southwest College, where the Clippers will practice once more Thursday before moving their workouts to an El Segundo health club for the rest of the season. "Everything was positive and I look forward to trying to get a rhythm out there and to be back as soon as possible."

Seattle forward Danny Fortson was suspended for one game without pay after a foul in Friday's game against Toronto was upgraded to a flagrant.

Fortson threw an elbow to the head of Raptors forward Chris Bosh in the game at Seattle. Fortson was to miss Sunday night's game against Memphis because of the suspension.

The NBA also said Sunday that Clippers forward Elton Brand was fined $7,500 after his foul against New York Knicks forward Tim Thomas on Friday was upgraded to a flagrant.

As the talk of trades swirls around Chicago's Eddy Curry ex-Bull Elton Brand is able to reflect on the benefits a fresh start can bring a player.  Brand was traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Los Angeles Clippers on draft night 2001 for high schooler Tyson Chandler.

"Definitely a fresh start can help you mentally," Brand said before the Clippers beat the Bulls on Saturday. "Just give you a new attitude, a new zest for the game. You've been down so long, so you go to a new environment, new people, new place - it can invigorate you."

"You feel disrespected a little bit," Brand said. "It kind of hurt. And you don't want to hear, 'Oh man, they shouldn't have traded you' and pats on the back. You don't want to hear that all day.

Now more than three years removed from his time with the Bulls, Brand has trouble believing his old team still hasn't turned things around.

"It just seems to me you've got to let the guys mature and grow and be a team," he said. "Everyone asks, 'Oh, Brad Miller, Ron Artest - how good could you guys have been?' You never know. I think we could have been pretty good."