• Mike Dunleavy returned to practice Saturday after going to the hospital Friday morning for treatment on a herniated disk in his back. “I feel OK,” Dunleavy said, “but I’m not going to be doing any dancing any time soon.”

• Eric Pincus grades the first 30 games for the Clippers. Pincus points out the biggest change in the most improved Clipper so far this year, Chris Kaman: “The biggest difference in Kaman’s offensive attack this year is a smooth face up jumper.  It’s a shot Dunleavy has encouraged Chris to take for years – but it’s only over this past summer that Kaman developed enough confidence.”

The Clippers post an efficient offensive game — one that would have been exceptional if not for the bevy of offensive miscues, sloppy interior passes, a series of botched shots at the rim, missed free throws, and offensive rebounds that slide off the Clippers’ fingertips. Still, they use their length and side-to-side movement to create plenty of shots for themselves. It’s their atrocious defensive effort against a Portland team without a legitimate center, and that loses LaMarcus Aldridge midway through the first quarter, that produces one of their least satisfying losses of the season.  More...

From Lisa Dillman at the Los Angeles Times:

Two others could be Al Thornton and Marcus Camby, both suffering injuries in the Clippers’ most-recent loss, at Houston, on Tuesday. Thornton and Camby did not practice Thursday.

Thornton jammed his right big toe against the Rockets, and Camby suffered a hyper-extended knee in the fourth quarter of the Houston game. They are both considered questionable for today’s game at Phoenix.

Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy was asked about their availability against the Suns.  More...

Only 26 games are in the books, but Al Thornton has already endured a full season’s worth of drama. After shooting an abysmal 12 for 36 from the field in the Clippers first four losses to start the season, the third-year pro was demoted to the bench for the first time since becoming a starter late in his rookie season. Thornton would soon see his playing time decrease dramatically (21 min, 18 min, 16 min) in three straight Clippers wins with his coming off the pine. After the last of those three games, a 113-110 win against Memphis on November 7th, Thornton was asked if he was growing comfortable with his new role off the bench, and he answered with an emphatic “No.” Struggling on the court and brooding off of it, Thornton desperately needed to catch some sort of break. Luckily for him it wouldn’t take long, as Eric Gordon’s hamstring injury would result in Thornton’s unheralded return to the starting lineup.  More...

We speak abstractly about the razor thin margin between winning and losing in basketball, but rarely do we get such a lucid illustration. I can’t recall the last time I’ve seen a game in which a team has been resuscitated the way the Clippers are Saturday evening.

With the game tied 99-99 in regulation and 0:11.1 remaining, the Sixers have possession:

Most hardcore basketball fans are programmed with the ability to instinctively determine the legality of a buzzer-beater most of the time. Watching it initially, I thought Iguodala hit it. Did you?  More...