Tonight marks the last regular season home game of 2014-2015, as the Los Angeles Clippers (54-26) host the Denver Nuggets (30-50) at Staples Center. The Clippers and Nuggets faced off nine days ago in Denver, a 107-92 Clippers win that was never close. Like that April 4 matchup, the Nuggets will be coming off the second night of a back-to-back, as they defeated the Sacramento Kings 122-111 yesterday in Denver. Unlike the previous meeting between the Clippers and the Nuggets, point guard Ty Lawson will be in the lineup. Lawson is second in the league in assists per turnover with a ratio of 3.93. Chris Paul is first in that category with a ratio of 4.38, and Paul has a whopping 13 assists per turnover in five games this month of April. At shootaround, Clippers guard Jamal Crawford discussed his candidacy for Sixth Man of the Year. Crawford won the award last season and in 2009-2010, and he would be the first player to win it three times. “That’s unreal, it really is,” Crawford said at the possibility of winning another Sixth Man of the Year award. Crawford mentioned that Boston’s Isaiah Thomas, Toronto’s Lou Williams, and Chicago’s Nikola Mirotic as bench players who are having notable seasons. Williams scored more points off the bench than any other player in the NBA this season (1,226, 15.5 points per game off bench), while Thomas is the only player who averages more points per game off the bench (16.4) than Crawford (16.1). “Obviously, those guys are having really good seasons, so we’ll see,” Crawford said. The Nuggets ruled out forward Danilo Gallinari (rest), along with guard Jameer Nelson (hip) and forward Darrell Arthur (calf). The team upgraded guard Erick Green to probable (shoulder). The Clippers are among the healthiest teams in the league, and have no one listed on the injury report.
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