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In a night where the New York Knicks pulled off the upset of the "Homecoming King" in Cleveland, and the Oklahoma City Thunder lost another star to injury; the season debuts of 2014 Sixth Man of the Year, Jamal Crawford and new Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was the news in Seattle.
The Oklahoma City Thunder losing Kevin Durant was one thing, but losing Russell Westbrook in the second game is something else (to a fractured hand). And the Los Angeles Clippers were still in a dog fight.
The Thunder lost Westbrook in the second quarter, but managed to keep the game close until Serge Ibaka's miss that ended the game. Perry Jones scored a career high 32 points, and former Sonic Nick Collison provided good defense and board work during his first stint off the bench.
Collison's two free throws (in which Steve Brooks wanted him to miss the second one) with four seconds left were the Thunder's last points of the night.
Crawford was the true difference maker. He scored nine of his 16 points in the second quarter, giving the Clippers a lead they would never really (save a quick lead change in the third quarter) relinquish. As Inside the NBA on TNT's Ernie Johnson said, "He'll still be shooting that [three point shot] when's 70 years old." Later adding that it would be 75 years old.
Spencer Hawes wasn't as effective as you'd want him to be, given the small rotation, but he still played key fourth quarter minutes.
| PNWer | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
| Jamal Crawford (Clippers) | 27 | 5-15 | 2-8 | 4-4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +8 | 16 |
| Spencer Hawes (Clippers) | 19 | 2-6 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +5 | 4 |
| Zach LaVine (Timberwolves) | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 |
| Nick Collison (Thunder) | 15 | 2-5 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -3 | 6 |
| Luke Ridnour (Magic) | 25 | 4-7 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +16 | 8 |
| C.J. Wilcox (Clippers) | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Luke Ridnour played solidly off the bench, getting more minutes at the point guard spot behind rookie Elfrid Payton, Zach LaVine continues the trend we've seen in the preseason, barely seeing the floor with the rest of his #EyesOnTheRise brethren. C.J. Wilcox wouldn't see the floor either.
Who had the best game tonight?