Jamal Crawford has more assists than points against the Heat

Jamal Crawford, the reigning sixth man of the year, is known for his skilled crossover, his silky smooth shot and his willingness to put his team first and come off the bench.

Add something else to his repertoire -- passing.

In the Clippers’ 110-93 win over the Miami Heat on Thursday, Jamal Crawford had nine assists. He passed more than he shot (he had five field goal attempts) and more than he scored (he had six points).

It’s not a typical statline for the high-scoring reserve, who’s averaging 17.1 points and 3.7 assists this season. Last season with the Clippers, he averaged 18.6 points and 3.2 assists a game.

Clippers’ Coach Doc Rivers was even a bit taken aback by Crawford’s performance.

“I looked at halftime, it was actually a great stat: He had zero points and five assists,” Rivers said. “I thought, wow, this is unusual and very nice.”

Crawford’s pass-a-thon came after Rivers said Monday that the team needs to trust each other more. His performance helped the Clippers get 31 assists on 43 field goals.

Crawford said he can’t even remember the last time that he had more assists than points.

“No, I don’t actually,” Crawford said. “I think they made a point of emphasis when I was coming off the pick-and-roll to stay with me and have me pass the ball. That’s fine. I trust the guys I am out there with. If I attract two people, some guy is open and I try to pick that apart.”