Livingston returns to an old haunt

He was standing, in civilian garb, in the Staples Center corridor outside the visitors’ locker room.

But even if Miami Heat point guard Shaun Livingston was inactive for Saturday night’s game against his former Clippers teammates, simply seeing him back in his old haunt was one of those feel-good NBA moments.

It had nothing to do with winning or losing.

“It’s great,” Livingston said before the game. “Memories. Memories, just talking to guys, mostly the staff. You know, this is a new team. It’s good to be back. It feels like a second home. It’s where I started out.”

And it’s where his career nearly ended.

On Feb. 26, 2007, he suffered a horrific left knee injury on this court against the Charlotte Bobcats, tearing three major ligaments and dislocating his kneecap.

His long journey back to the NBA took him to Miami, and he has played in three games for the Heat this season.

Just like his long, long rehabilitation, the operative word is slow.

“I’m about 80 to 85%,” Livingston said. “Letting it come around slow, at my pace. I think I’m trying to push myself as much as I can to get back to 100%. I’m not really playing starting minutes or even a lot of minutes right now. So I’m not suiting up tonight.

“I actually had a back-to-back in exhibition season. Went out there and played some minutes, 20 to 25. It felt good just to be out there.”

Though there has been fairly incredible progress, Livingston still has a difficult path ahead of him.

“Right now, it’s just really like jumping off one leg, being able to stop, plant,” he said. “The endurance-based stuff as well. Say if I was to play a game, to play though all four quarters, by the third and fourth quarter, I’m definitely going to be pretty fatigued.

“My left leg is not as strong as my right leg. Obviously, I want to work on that balance. To get to 100 and 110%, I need both sides to be equally strong.”

--

lisa.dillman@latimes.com