Clippers still caught up in Donald Sterling scandal

Jamal Crawford’s eyes grew wide when he was asked if he had a comment about V. Stiviano’s claim during a television interview on Friday night that Donald Sterling wasn’t a racist.

“No, I don’t have any,” Crawford said after the Clippers’ shoot-around Saturday. “That sounds like a TMZ question.”

Crawford smiled and then continued to talk about the Clippers’ preparations to play the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series Saturday night at Staples Center.

But again, the Clippers were forced to talk about the Sterling scandal.

Stiviano was asked during the interview on ABC’s “20/20,” in light of the disparaging remarks about African Americans attributed to him, if she believed Sterling was a racist.

“No,” she responded. “I don’t believe that in my heart.”

Sterling’s comments about blacks continue to envelop the Clippers even after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life and called for the other NBA franchise owners to force him to sell the team.

The Clippers wanted to talk about the Warriors before Saturday’s game, but they still had to talk about Sterling.

“I’m sure it’s going to be there,” Crawford said. “But we didn’t talk about it. Our focus is strictly on the game. That’s something that we can control. Other than that, we’re not worried about anything else.”