The Los Angeles Clippers' six-game winning streak ended Saturday with a 146-115 loss to the Boston Celtics. But, while it wasn't the result the Clippers were looking for, the game was a return to the court for center Ivica Zubac. 

Zubac was sidelined for five games after suffering a Grade 2 ankle sprain against the Los Angeles Lakers Dec. 20, but played his first game without incident against Boston, logging four points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes. 

Zubac avoided the worst by missing five games with ankle injury and a speedy return from ther starting center was a welcome sight for the Clippers, who have been in the midst of a season recovery despite the loss to the Celtics. 

Five games and nearly two weeks is still a long time to be off the court by NBA standards and Zubac mentioned after the game that he was still getting his conditioning back up to where he had it pre-injury. 

"Sometimes I can't feel my legs under me. Got winded pretty easily. But, it's a process. Glad to be back out there, be healthy. It's good," Zubac said. 

He may have been forced to watch the majority of the winning streak from the sidelines, but Zubac still liked what he saw from his teammates during their dominant and somewhat improbable stretch of victories, a stark difference from how most of their games have gone in their so far 12-22 season. 

Now that he's joined the team again, Zubac is eager to get them back on track after what's hopefully a minor setback against the Celtics. 

"It was great. Guys stepped up. Everybody played really good. It was fun watching from the sideline. I'm happy to be out there, but's fun when we were winning... We lost one, we've got to get back on a winning streak."

Zubac has been a major bright spot in what's been an overall frustrating season for the Clippers. In 29 games, Zubac is averaging 15.2 points, 11 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, all his second-highest marks in his career. He's provided essential size and defensive presence for Los Angeles and besides his ankle injury, has been one of the most consistently healthy Clippers this season.

There's a still a long road ahead for the Clippers to climb to a competitive spot in the league and be in a position for the playoffs, likely via the Play-In tournament, but with Zubac holding down the paint, their chances at that spot are significantly improved.