Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 114-109 win over the Washington Wizards

There were a few moments where it felt like Blake Griffin never left, but otherwise the star power forward hardly resembled himself Sunday afternoon in a choppy return against the Washington Wizards after a 45-game absence. Here are five takeaways from the Clippers’ 114-109 victory:

1. Griffin was back … sort of. It was something of a struggle as expected, Griffin’s six points, five rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes in his first game in more than three months was not exactly the kind of production he’s used to putting up. His two baskets were more promising reminders of his All-Star form. He took an alley-oop lob from Chris Paul for a dunk and later spun around Markieff Morris for a one-handed driving layup that he banked in. It’s going to take some time for him to do those types of moves more often in games. “It’s going to be a process,” Griffin said. “It’s going to be trying and there are going to be times when it’s frustrating, but I’m kind of used to it.”

2. The Clippers’ late-game offensive execution is peaking. They kept making the plays they needed to hold off the Wizards, including a Jamal Crawford lob to DeAndre Jordan for a dunk coming out of a timeout and a Chris Paul three-pointer after he juked Washington’s John Wall to free himself. “We’ve been absolutely fantastic over the last month, month and a half,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said of his team’s ability to make plays in the final minutes. “But we actually work on it probably more, which helps as well.”

3. Homecourt advantage belongs to the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. It never really seemed in doubt the way Memphis keeps backsliding in the win-loss department, but the Clippers no longer have to wonder where they’ll open the playoffs. It will be at Staples Center against either the fading Grizzlies or the surging Portland Trail Blazers, who are now only a half game behind the Grizzlies in the Western Conference standings with 1 1/2 weeks left in the regular season.

4. Crawford had another big game off the bench. The Clippers have begun campaigning on behalf of their super sub, listing Crawford’s credentials for what would be a record third NBA Sixth Man of the Year award in their game notes. Meanwhile, Crawford keeps scoring, his 19 points off the bench Sunday again propping up the Clippers when they might otherwise have stumbled. The biggest question about Crawford’s candidacy will be whether the voters hold a slow start against him, as he’s been probably the best bench player in the league since Christmas after struggling over the season’s first two months.

5. A double dose of the Lakers is next. It would seem easy to chalk it up as a pair of victories for the Clippers when they play their fellow Staples Center tenant in back-to-back games, but remember these Lakers have some stunning wins on the way to what will probably be the worst season in franchise history. They beat Golden State, something the Clippers couldn’t do in four tries this season, and recently prevailed over playoff-bound Miami in overtime. The Clippers have won nine consecutive games in the series. Something that could work in the Lakers’ favor: the possibility that Rivers could rest some of his starters in the second game in two nights on Wednesday.