Los Angeles Clippers

With her racist husband banned from the arena, Shelly Sterling hit up Staples Center in L.A. last night to watch the Clippers play ... under new management.

As we previously reported, Shelly demanded to be recognized as the team's "Owner Emeritus" and "Clippers' Number 1 Fan" when she sold the team to Steve Ballmer for $2 billion ... and it seems like Steve is a man of his word.

Shelly sat right on the court during the Clip's victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder ... and cheered on all of the people who hate her husband.

The Matt Barnes and Gloria Govan break-up isn't as friendly and happy and cheery as she says it is ... this according to sources close to Matt, who tell us this thing is pretty damn far from amicable.

"Basketball Wives" star Gloria Govan says a reconciliation with L.A. Clippers star Matt Barnes is NOT out of the question ... telling TMZ Sports the split with her estranged hubby is "definitely amicable."

We broke the story ... Matt separated from Gloria earlier this summer with sources telling us "trust issues" played a part in the split.  So far, neither Matt nor Gloria have filed for divorce.

Now, Gloria tells us the two are still on pretty good terms -- "we're dope" -- and says they're working together extremely well to co-parent their twin boys.

It's an interesting turn of events ... considering Gloria is being sued for allegedly forging Matt's name on official documents to take out a secret $150k loan.

Gloria also says she expects to get together with Matt this weekend to help the kids celebrate Halloween.

L.A. Clippers President Doc Rivers knows recruiting can be tough ... which is why he's already calling DIBS on LeBron James' and Dwyane Wade's kids!!

Rivers was leaving Craig's in West Hollywood Monday night when we asked if he thinks Bron's or D-Wade's sons had a shot to make the NBA when they grow up.

FYI -- LeBron has two boys (10 and 7) who are already generating serious buzz in the basketball world ... and Dwyane's boys have been ranked as some of the top youth prospects in the country.

"I want rights to all their kids," Doc said.

Check out the clip of Wade's kid Zaire -- Doc knows what's up.

A key witness has emerged in Blake Griffin's alleged slap scandal -- his teammate DeAndre Jordan who was WITH the L.A. Clippers star the night of the incident.

We spoke to DeAndre out in L.A. yesterday who told us he had NO IDEA Blake was being investigated by police for allegedly pulling a Zsa Zsa Gabor on a patron at Tao nightclub early Sunday morning.

As we previously reported, Jordan was partying with Blake and several other Clippers teammates that night -- but tells TMZ Sports he has no recollection of Blake whipping out the pimp hand that night.

Blake Griffin has been accused of bitch-slapping a 39-year-old man inside a nightclub in Vegas this weekend ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Here's what we know ... a man named Daniel says he was partying at Tao nightclub in the Venetian in the early hours of October 19th when he tried to take a cell phone pic of the crowd.

According to a statement Daniel gave to Tao security, the man says Blake (who was partying at the club with his L.A. Clippers teammates) was bothered by the flash of the camera -- and "grabbed my phone with one hand."

Daniel says he didn't let go of the phone because his ID and credit card were attached to it -- so Blake grabbed his neck and began to squeeze while demanding Daniel give up his phone "or else."

According to the statement, the two eventually separated after Blake took the phone -- and when Daniel tried to ask for it back, Blake struck again ... grabbing his neck and squeezing for a second time.

Daniel says when security finally got to the scene -- Blake told them, "Get him the f**k out of this club."

Daniel says Blake then "slapped me in the right side of my face."

After he left the club, Daniel filed a battery report with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department. He says cops came to his hotel the next day and spoke with him for about an hour.

So far, attempts to reach Blake for comment have been unsuccessful.

Story developing ...

Seems the L.A. Clippers are over that whole Donald Sterling thing -- because the team hit up a Vegas nightclub together Saturday night ... and even (playfully) hazed one of their rookies right on the dance floor.

It all went down at Tao in the Venetian -- where Chris Paul was the "celebrity host." But CP3 didn't come alone ... he was joined by teammates Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, J.J. Redick, Big Baby Davis and more.

There were bottles, there were hot ladies ... and there was a moment where the guys forced rookie C.J. Wilcox to get on the dance floor and turn up while the team cheered him on.

Not exactly Miami Dolphins-style hazing.

At one point, Big Baby grabbed the mic and led the crowd in a rendition of his single, "Big Baby Gon Turn It Up" ... and everyone loved it.

It's clear these guys really like each other off the court -- question is ... will their close-knit bond translate to wins ON the court? Stay tuned ...

Don't put a fork in Matt Barnes and Gloria Govan's marriage just yet ... 'CAUSE IT AIN'T OVER ... so says Gloria's sister Laura Govan -- who knows what it's like to be in a relationship with an NBA star.

Laura -- who has 4 kids with NBA star Gilbert Arenas -- was out in Calabasas when our photog asked if there was chance her sister would ever reconcile with Matt now that they've separated.

Blake Griffin says he's THRILLED the Clips are finally rid of Donald Sterling -- saying the guy was "like a weird uncle" who was clearly "off his rocker."

Griffin just spilled his guts about his former boss on The Players Tribune -- saying his relationship with Sterling was bizarre from day 1 ... when the old man tried to hook him up with two women at a Malibu beach party who were likely paid escorts.

"Two blonde models showed up on either side of me. They had clearly been hired for the event. I knew this because they were wearing size XXXX-L Clippers T-shirts tied at the stomach. I looked at Sterling. He had a big dumb grin on his face. I looked at one of the girls, as if to say, “Uhhh, you don’t have to do this.” She looked back: “Uhhh, yes I do."

In the article, Griffin also talks about how he felt the first time he heard the infamous Sterling audio recording -- saying:

"It was shocking to actually hear what he said, but not really that surprising to me."

There's more about Sterling ... here are some of the highlights:

-- "The guy was off his rocker."
-- "He kind of sounds like a combination of Walter Matthau and Michael Jackson."
-- "[Steve Ballmer] is a good dude. He’s like a cool dad who gives you candy. Donald was like a weird uncle"

Griffin concluded his tell-all with this nugget:

"Someone asked me the other day if I’m mad that he made out with $2 billion for selling the team. Maybe a little bit. But in the end, I’m just happy he’s gone."

Seems the "trust issues" in Matt Barnes' marriage may be coming to light ... because his estranged wife Gloria Govan has been accused of forging the NBA star's signature to take out a $150k loan ... this according to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

The woman behind the lawsuit is Nina Rawls -- the widow of R&B legend Lou Rawls -- who claims Gloria approached her back in March and asked to borrow $150k for a TV project produced by Gloria and Matt's production company.

Rawls says she agreed -- but the loan had to be repaid in full just 2 MONTHS later. According to the suit, May came and went ... and Gloria (who stars on "Basketball Wives: LA") never ponied up the dough.

Eventually, Nina says Gloria ADMITTED that she forged Matt's signature on the loan docs in the first place. It's unclear if Matt ever knew about the loan in the first place ... but our sources tell us Barnes was completely in the dark about the alleged deal.

Now, Nina wants the full $150k back -- plus damages.

We called Matt and Gloria's reps for comment -- so far no word back.

L.A. Clippers star Matt Barnes has separated from his reality star wife Gloria Govan ... TMZ Sports has learned -- and sources close to the couple tell us it's all over "trust issues."

Barnes and Govan were married back in 2012 -- and have 5-year-old twin boys together.

Sources connected to the couple tell us Matt and "Basketball Wives: LA" star Gloria have been separated for about 6 weeks.

We're told they're still technically living in the same house -- but it's just temporary and it's just a matter of time before one of them moves out and they start the divorce process.

Maybe one of the biggest signs things were going south ... Matt hasn't posted a picture of Gloria on Instagram in months. And we haven't been able to find a picture of Gloria wearing her wedding ring since late-August.

Donald Sterling and V. Stiviano reunited at his Beverly Hills mansion today -- and when Donald's wife found out ... she called police, trying to get V. arrested ... TMZ has learned.

We're told Shelly Sterling got wind of Donald and V.'s tryst ... and believed Stiviano must have broken into the house. Our Sterling sources tell us Shelly called Bev Hills PD immediately and reported a break-in.

We're told police officers responded ... and spoke to Donald and Stiviano. One source tells us V. was an "invited" guest, so ... no break-in, and no arrests.

Shelly has beef with V. ... She sued the alleged mistress, claiming she embezzled $1.8 mil from Donald ... and Shelly says half of that was hers. Shelly claims V. swindled an old man who wasn't with it.

Cops tell us V. wasn't scared off ... she stayed after they left.

Work hard, play hard ... that's the way it was for LeBron James and Chris Paul Sunday -- who hit the gym together during the day and the CLUB together at night.

LeBron and CP3 spent their Sunday training at the gym at UCLA with Bron's Cleveland Cavs teammate Tristan Thompson ... and even posted a pic to Instagram.

But when the sun went down, Bron and Paul freshened up -- and hit up Greystone Manor in West Hollywood.

The two arrived around midnight and spent about 2 hours in the place ... finally leaving the when the club shut down.

The two have been good friends for years -- but the big question, when the tab came ... who paid?

What do Blake Griffin and Michael Richards have in common? They both tested their comedy chops at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood. Safe to say, one went better than the other ...

The L.A. Clippers superstar appeared at the legendary Sunset Strip comedy club to perform at open mic night ... and decided to read some of his "Slam Dunk Poetry."

Griffin's been reciting some of his work -- inspired by snap-off warm-up pants, mouthpieces and bobblehead dolls -- as part of an ad campaign for Vizio.

Now, it seems he's taken his show on the road. And so far, people seem to be diggin' it.

At the very least ... his comedy club debut went better than Kramer.

Doc Rivers is no stranger to national controversy (see: Donald Sterling) ... so the question we had to ask -- could NBA Commissioner Adam Silver have handled the Ray Rice situation better than Roger Goodell?

Of course, Silver was hailed as a hero for his swift and thorough handling of the Sterling scandal -- when he sent a team of NBA investigators to L.A. ... who quickly gathered facts and independently verified the authenticity of the Sterling recordings.

On the other hand, Goodell is being accused of bungling the Rice case -- after admitting he screwed up on Ray's initial punishment and claiming he was never able to get his hands on the elevator security footage.

L.A. Clippers star Matt Barnes admits ... he's not proud of all of his tattoos -- in fact, Barnes says there's one piece of ink he hated so much, he HAD to go out and cover it up.

Barnes was out at Kitson in L.A. Wednesday to support teammate DeAndre Jordan when he told us about the regrettable work he got on his arm back when he was a teenager ... and why he had to make it go away.