NBA action: Clippers top Thunder in Oklahoma City

With the game coming down to the wire, Crawford buried a three to put the Clippers up four with 1:30 left, and he also buried a clutch jumper a minute later that helped seal the win. The veteran guard shot 13-of-20 overall and 5-of-8 from three:

Trailing by two in the final minute, Harden drove the lane and kicked out to an open Beverley, who buried the three:

Chicago also had 19 turnovers leading to 19 Miami points. While the Heat were far from clean without James by hitting 42 percent of their own shots, Erik Spoelstra’s team did take care of the ball, committing only eight turnovers.

Durant poured in 42 points and 10 assists for the Thunder, hitting a go-ahead three-pointer with less than two minutes to play to give Oklahoma City a 115-112 lead. The Clippers would respond from there by scoring the next seven points, capped by a Crawford three from the left wing that gave Los Angeles a four-point lead with 1:30 left in the game.

Russell Westbrook’s second game back from a knee injury was as rusty as the first. He scored 13 points to go with six assists but shot 3-for-13 from the floor, his final miss coming with 35 seconds left and the Thunder trailing by four points.

Oden has played in 10 games for the Heat this season, averaging 2.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game. The former first overall pick had been out of the league since Dec. 5, 2009. That was also the last time he started a game leading up to his chance to start on Sunday.

James was considered a game-time decision after suffering a broken nose. The Heat are off until next Thursday after their game against the Bulls, leading head coach Erik Spoelstra to deciding to give James an week of rest before closing out the season.

James was considered a game-time decision after the team diagnosed him with a broken nose. The Heat are off until next Thursday, creating an opportunity for the team to give James an entire week off before potentially returning to the court. Spoelstra stated the week-long layoff helped the team reach the decision to rest James.

Like the Thunder with Westbrook, however, the Clippers are obviously better with Paul. He controls the game on offense with the acumen of a classical composer and he’s a pesky defender with quick hands and the instincts to play inside of passing lanes. But playing through the post and then switching back to a point guard dominant offense isn’t an easy shift, so it may still take some time for L.A. to adjust.

There is no doubt that the Clippers and Thunder are in a much better position with their All-NBA starting point guards back in the lineup. Now it’s time for the adjustment period for both teams as they begin to make a push for playoff positioning. If the playoffs started today, this is a potential beauty of a second-round matchup. Maybe today, then, both teams will begin to scheme against one another.