Key Matchup: Jamal Crawford and J.J. Barea Both teams are receiving nice contributions from their first guards off the bench. Crawford, who established himself as a top-notch sixth man in Atlanta and Portland, is averaging 16.6 per game and ranks third on the Clippers’ scoring list. With 2013 being his 13th season in the NBA, Crawford is scoring as efficiently as ever with a 42 percent clip—an improvement on his career average. He provides Los Angeles with a boost off the bench, but he often ends up logging more playing time than some starters as he ranks third on the team with 29 minutes per game. Barea has been one of the lone consistencies for Minnesota this year. At one point, he scored in double figures for 13 straight games; he also led the Wolves against Dallas, his former team, with 21 points. When everything else falls apart, you can usually count on Barea to put up a fight. The speedy guard uses his body to shield defenders away from his lay-ups, and he’s a threat from outside as well. Watch each team’s sixth man square off tonight, because they very well could also be the top scorers. Injury report The Timberwolves had three players sidelined due to illness on Wednesday at practice, as Andrei Kirilenko, Alexey Shved and Lazar Hayward all did not participate. Malcolm Lee underwent a pair of successful surgeries this week (right hip, right knee), and Kevin Love underwent successful surgery on his right hand on Tuesday. Clippers guard Chris Paul has missed the last two games with a bruised right kneecap, and he is listed as questionable tonight in Minnesota. Caron Butler is listed as probable with a sore right foot, Chauncey Billups has missed the last 22 games with a left foot injury, and Trey Thomkins is out indefinitely.
*-Questionable for tonight's game