NBA scores 2016: Chris Paul is still one of the best point guards in the league

Paul’s brilliant fourth quarter led the Clippers over the Heat, plus the Kings in freefall and everything else from Super Bowl Sunday in the NBA.

by Liam Boylan-Pett

Feb 8, 2016, 1:00 PM UTC

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

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Early on against the Miami Heat on Sunday, the Los Angeles Clippers couldn't buy a bucket. At one point in the first quarter they had missed 10 field goal attempts in a row. Chris Paul was especially bad. He started the game 0 of 9 from the floor. Fortunately for the the Clippers, the Heat offense wasn't lighting up the scoreboard, either -- the Heat led 19-15 after one.

Paul and the Clippers eventually warmed up -- the point guard was brilliant down the stretch as the Clippers pulled away from the Heat in the final minutes to win 100-93.

Paul ended up shooting 8-for-23 from the field on his way to 22 points and seven assists. The Clippers were fine without Blake Griffin and Austin Rivers -- who both will be out for at least four more weeks. Jamal Crawford poured in 20 points off the bench and DeAndre Jordan had nine points -- including some monster alley-oops in the fourth quarter -- and 11 rebounds as the Clippers improved to 34-17 with their 18th win in 22 games.

Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Goran Dragic had 17 points apiece for the Heat, who shot only 39.8 percent from the field.

After the slow start, both teams woke up in the second quarter. The Clippers went into the half with a one-point lead and built up an eight-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter thanks to Miami going 4-for-20 from the field in the third.

A 10-2 run pulled the Heat to within three with 6:36 left, but they would never get closer than that -- because Paul took over.

Even though the Clippers defense was giving Wade and Dragic wide-open looks, Paul always had an answer. He was nailing daggers from deep and finding open teammates in the lane. He scored eight points in the final 3:29 of the game, toying with the Heat defense.

His two threes were huge, but when Paul found DeAndre Jordan for a colossal throw-down, the game was over.

Back and forth we go on ABC! LAC lead is 7 after this LOB! 2:11 left. #NBARapidReplay #LACatMIA https://t.co/wNjCtyTqis
— NBA (@NBA) February 7, 2016

Paul didn't throw up one of his 20-point, 20-assist games, but he was unstoppable down the stretch. It's easy to take Paul for granted because he's been so impressive for so many years -- and because fans and the media alike love calling him out for struggling in the playoffs -- but he's not far behind Stephen Curry or LeBron James when it comes to taking over a game.

Going up a against a sloppy Heat team may not seem amazing, but Paul made the right move at every turn down the stretch. He took the open shot when it was there and forced his way into the lane when it wasn't available -- it helps that he has a dunk-machine in Jordan. The Clippers aren't in the conversation with the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder out West yet -- but with Paul, they can't be overlooked.

2 other things we learned

The Sacramento Kings are in free-fall.

On January 23, the Kings beat the Indiana Pacers to win their fifth game in a row. At 20-23, they were in the thick of the race for the eighth playoff spot in the West. Oh how things change. After Sunday's 128-119 blowout loss to the Boston Celtics, the Kings have lost seven of eight games and are failing to do anything about it. The defense, which has never been a strong point for the Kings this season, has been even more nonexistent as of late. The Celtics were off and running from the opening tip, pouring in 46 first-quarter points. Avery Bradley led the Celtics with 25 points and Isaiah Thomas had 22 points and nine assists on a day when scoring came easy. DeMarcus Cousins filled up the stat sheet again with 31 points, six rebounds and seven assists, but he had five turnovers and was often in the wrong spot on defense. George Karl's head coaching job is certainly in jeopardy, but is anyone going to be able to get this team going? Cousins is certainly a talent, but he's yet to be on a team that can challenge for the playoffs. Scratch that -- he just was but the Kings have handled it horribly.

Lackadaisical starts are killing the New York Knicks.

The Denver Nuggets jumped out to a 31-20 lead after one quarter against the Knicks on Sunday. That lead ballooned to 18 late in the second quarter and it looked like the route was on. To their credit, the Knicks battled back. They trailed by only 11 at the half and stormed back in the third quarter -- outscoring the Nuggets by 13 to take a two-point lead into the fourth. Unfortunately for the Knicks, however, they used too much energy digging themselves out of a hole and had no energy down the stretch. Emmanuel Mudiay scored nine of his 15 points during a fourth-quarter run and the Knicks couldn't get anything going with isolation ball down the stretch as Denver pulled away to win, 101-96. It was the Knicks' fifth straight loss, and they don't seem to have a quick fix. Carmelo Anthony had 21 points and seven assists and Kristaps Porzingis had 21 points and 13 rebounds, but the Knicks are extremely inconsistent and rely too much on plodding offense. Anthony and Porzingis are stars, but the Knicks have a long way to go when it comes to effort.

Play of the night

The game shouldn't have been tied with 2.2 seconds to play. The Orlando Magic squandered a massive lead to the Atlanta Hawks. But that's where they were. Fortunately for the Magic, Nikola Vucevic hits game-winners with ease.