A survey of the players and teams making moves in last night's NBA action.

1. The Grindhouse Bench

(All GIFs by @HeyBelinda)

Chris Ryan: The fact that whatever happens on the court is so grimy, Tony Allen feels the need to wander off with that look on his face. Also, it looks like Z-Bo is using that cup as a dip-spitting receptacle, and the Keyon Dooling photo bomb in the back is Bosh-ian. But my favorite thing right here is the apparent difference between what Z-Bo is saying and what Jon Leuer is saying.

A survey of the players and teams making moves in last night's NBA action.

1. Blake Griffin

There are nights when he sulks, glares at the officials after every whistle, mopes past his coach (you'll see why in a second), and throws his hands in the air when he doesn't get the ball on an offensive possession. There are nights when you watch him and think, what are you? Are you a human highlight reel wrapped around an otherwise average power forward who is a below-average defender with limited shooting range? There are nights when you ask, why, in the name of all that is holy, if you can do what you can do in that video above, would you ever burn six seconds on the shot clock so that you can crossover dribble a couple of times and launch a midrange jumper? And then there are nights (days, in this case) when Blake Griffin is basically unguardable.

(All GIFs by @HeyBelinda)

Dwight Howard is about as interested in getting involved with that dunk as he is in listening to yet another Kobe soliloquy about the benefits of ice baths and oxygen tanks.

A survey of the players and teams making moves in last night's NBA action.

1. Dirk Nowitzki

Robert Mays: Well, don’t look now (actually, you probably should look), but the Mavericks are coming. Dallas is 10-4 in March, and with last night’s OT win against the Clips, the Mavs are a game behind the Lakers for the last playoff spot in the West.

Last night’s Dirk performance was just the latest step in an upward trend that would make any team that draws Dallas in the first round a bit uneasy. After missing most of the first two months of the season, Nowitzki’s gone from 16.9 points on 44.2 percent shooting in January to 18.9 on 52.9 percent in March. His 33 last night were a season high, and they came on 21 shots — another season high. Just as the Mavs need Dirk to be Dirk, he finally can be.

Two nights ago, as the Spurs and Thunder tangled in a rematch of last season’s most exciting playoff series, it was easy to drool over another San Antonio–Oklahoma City conference finals. The old lion, its pinpoint system bolstered by some new tweaks in talent and Gregg Popovich’s playing rotation, scrambling for one more Finals appearance at the expense of the young bucks who appeared to solve that system last June.

And then, a jolt: Remember the Clippers? Remember in January, when the Western Conference was a three-team discussion? The Clippers ceded the spotlight after Denver ended their 17-game winning streak, and that light has never really returned. The Clips have gone a pedestrian 20-14 since the streak; did the league lose a contender when everyone stopped looking and the presumptive title favorite began its own monster streak?

With the basketball part of my brain switched off yesterday, it wasn’t until this morning that I caught the Sporting News report that the Los Angeles Clippers were interested in a trade for Kevin Garnett. The initial reaction, as someone who works 50 yards from Staples Center and has long held a fascination with KG, was, of course, “OH MY GOD, DO THAT.” With some time to consider it, the basketball fan in me has pretty much come to agree.

The report claims that talks had already taken place between the teams, which ESPN’s Chris Broussard has reported is not the case. Supposedly, there are those with the Clippers who are worried about the two remaining years on KG’s deal after this season ends.

That seems like a legitimate concern. By the time this contract runs out, Garnett will be 39 years old, and it’s fair to say that this season has been his worst in the past 15 years. With Chris Paul’s new contract on the horizon and Blake Griffin’s kicking in next season, adding more than $11.5 million of Kevin Garnett in 2014 comes with its risks.

In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Tuesday.

• Tony Parker scored 34 points and dished out eight assists as the Spurs remained unbeaten in the postseason, beating the Thunder 120-111 and going up 2-0 in the Western Conference Finals. "I'm … I'm running out of time," the Doctor told the Spurs star, in a quiet nook of the locker room. "The Bentonite has been too close to me for too long. Without the powder, I won't last much longer." Parker put his head in his hands. "But without you … my God, the whole sports landscape will explode! Only you can cure its ills!" The Doctor nodded wearily. He stood, slumped to the right, and walked away, weaker than Parker had ever seen him. "I can't help you anymore," he whispered, and was gone.

In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Monday.

• Bobby Valentine apologized to Kevin Youkilis a day after questioning his physical and emotional commitment to the team. Youkilis sat out with a groin injury as the Sox fell to James Shields (8 1/3 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs) and the Rays 1-0. Despite the apology, Valentine's original point about physical commitment seemed to hold true after the game, when Youkilis was spotted doing his famous "groin dance" for a group of female fans.

In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Tuesday.

• The Los Angeles Dodgers have been sold for a record $2 billion to a group that includes NBA legend Magic Johnson. "The clock just struck midnight for Frank McCourt," Johnson said. "And now it's time for The Magic Hour!" A PR rep quickly hurried to his side and whispered in his hear, after which Johnson boomed, "And now it's time for what we're calling anything but The Magic Hour!"