NBA schedule: Thunder slip by Knicks; Clippers-Nuggets play rubber-match

Shaq turned 41 on Tuesday. He does not seem amused about TNT’s on-air celebration of that fact.

Not pictured: A festive game of “pin the tail on the Ernie.”

The Nuggets pushed their winning-streak to seven games with the victory.

The Nuggets’ hot three-point shooting put them over the top while the Clippers’ performance from beyond the arc was anything but proficient. Denver shot 47.8 percent from beyond the arc, making good on 11 of its 23 three-point field goal attempts. The Clippers, meanwhile, shot only 7-for-22: a 33.1 percent success rate. From the field as a whole, the Nuggets shot 55.8 percent.

Even Shaq’s gotta show off his moves.

• Are advanced stats good for fans?

I’m not even sure you can pull this off in NBA 2K. Dribble out of a double-team, go behind your back, cross back for the stepback jumper and drain it.

As pretty much anyone can attest, getting dinged unexpectedly on the chin usually results in only one outcome: biting the heck out of your tongue. And that’s exactly what happened to Ibaka, poor guy.

At least we didn’t get an Andrew W.K. album cover imitation.

I can’t stop watching this. Thank you, O Magnificent Business Clown.

Now I can’t jump anywhere near the rim, but if I could, I certainly would make such a boneheaded play. Thanks for proving a lot of our followers accurate, Russ.

• Are advanced stats good for fans?

Thanks to everyone for joining with me in the fun!

• Are advanced stats good for fans?

After dealing with soreness in his knee for several weeks, Carmelo injured himself in an awkward-looking fall during New York’s victory over Cleveland on Monday. He missed their game against Detroit on Wednesday and didn’t speak to the media afterwards, raising doubts about whether he would be able to play on Thursday. He’s currently listed as day-to-day, with no further word on his status for the game against Oklahoma City.

And while Carmelo has always lived in LeBron’s shadow since their rookie season in 2003, the far more interesting comparison is with Durant. They’re two of the most natural scorers in the NBA, explosive combo forwards too quick for power forwards and too big for small forwards to defend. This season, Carmelo is averaging 28.2 points a game on 44/38/83 shooting while Durant checks in at 28.6 points a night on preposterous 52/41/91 shooting percentages. And while Durant has always been the more efficient scorer, where he’s started to separate himself this season is in the other facets of the game, as a passer, rebounder and defensive player.