NBA scores 2015: Chris Paul outduels Russell Westbrook, Thunder drop to 9th in West

Paul got it done on both ends of the floor, scoring 33 points and hounding Westbrook into a tough night. By losing to the Clippers, the Thunder are a half-game behind the Pelicans for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.

by Jason Patt

Mar 12, 2015, 1:00 PM UTC

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Russell Westbrook has gotten most of the headlines of late thanks to his ridiculous play and the accolades have been well-deserved. But on Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, Chris Paul stole the show in a 120-108 victory for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Paul has been great all year, but the "Point God" has stepped his game up even more over the last month with Blake Griffin sidelined, and he was at it again against the hottest player in the league. Paul finished with 33 points and nine assists while shooting 11-of-19 from the field, and he did it two days after being visibly limited by a knee injury against the Timberwolves.

Meanwhile, Westbrook nearly had another triple-double with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, but he shot just 5-of-14 and turned the ball over a career-high 10 times. Paul played a huge role in those turnovers, and the Clippers’ team defense in general did an excellent job shutting down driving lanes and forcing those miscues:

Russell Westbrook has a career-high 10 turnovers. 7 of his 10 turnovers have come with Chris Paul as his primary defender.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 12, 2015

And more:

Russell Westbrook tonight by defender vs Chris Paul: 7 Pts, 2-8 FG, 7 TO vs all others: 17 Pts, 3-6 FG, 3 TO
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 12, 2015

Los Angeles continues to get it done short-handed, as not only is Griffin still out, but Jamal Crawford sat out again as well. Paul was superb, but he got plenty of help from several of his other cronies in the Clippers starting lineup. J.J. Redick had 25 points. Matt Barnes had 22 points and went 6-of-7 from three. DeAndre Jordan did his thing with 18 points and 17 rebounds.

Meanwhile, the loss drops the Thunder to the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference, a half-game behind the Pelicans (The teams are tied in the loss column). Kevin Durant won't be back for another week or two, and there are some tough games coming up. As good as Westbrook has been, he needs some help and the Thunder need Durant to get where they want to go. Anthony Davis and the Pelicans are playing some great ball right now, so Oklahoma City is going to have to dig deep and pull out some more victories before Durant returns.

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Nicolas Batum is the hero Portland needs: Batum has been a do-it-all guy for the Trail Blazers over the course of his career, but some nagging injuries at the beginning of this season had him mostly ineffective. But Batum is finally rounding into form, and he was brilliant again in a 105-100 victory over the Rockets. Not only did the Frenchman put up 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists, but he helped limit James Harden to 18 points, with only four of those points coming in the second half. Corey Brewer made things interesting by scoring 17 straight points late, but Portland eked out the win, thanks in large part to Batum. The Blazers needed Batum to pick it up even before Wesley Matthews went down for the year, but Batum is needed now more than ever with Matthews on the shelf. He appears ready to answer the call.

Nuggets continue to look like a good team post-Brian Shaw: When I did this recap post for last Wednesday's games, I noted how the Nuggets looked like a different team after Shaw was fired. Not much has changed over the last week, and Denver came up with its most impressive win in the post-Shaw era, beating down Atlanta, 115-102. The game wasn't even that close, as it was a 30-point game heading into the fourth quarter, and it only finished "close" because of a late charge by the Hawks' scrubs. Danilo Gallinari looked like his old self in the win, pouring in 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting in 24 minutes. Gallinari has been a shell of himself in the wake of his knee problems, so it was great to see him look like the guy we used to know.

Celtics won't go quietly: The Celtics were left for dead earlier in the season, but they've quietly resembled a solid team over the last month-plus. Boston shocked Atlanta right before the All-Star break and played Golden State close on March 1 (played them close in late January as well), and the Celtics picked up another win against the NBA's elite by grinding out a 95-92 win against the Grizzlies, the kings of grind. However, it should be noted that Boston used offense to win the game by putting up 31 points in the fourth quarter against the stingy Memphis defense. Avery Bradley returned from a brief absence to pour in a team-high 17 points and a huge jumper late, and the game was won when Mike Conley missed a potential game-tying three. Conley was lucky to be in the game after it looked like he suffered a nasty injury, so even though the Grizzlies lost, they should be thankful that their point guard is okay.