11.   It was a loss that put their sixth-place playoff position on shaky ground, leaving the Knicks ahead of Cleveland by just a half-game.

12.   It was the second consecutive game the Clippers beat a team fighting for playoff position.

13.   Meanwhile, the Knicks are jockeying for playoff position themselves, hoping to secure homecourt advantage in the first round.

14.   Motivation comes from the schedule when a team is battling for playoff position this late in the season.

15.   Miami is in solid playoff position but Atlanta hangs by a thread.

16.   Now is not the time for an offensive swoon, not when the Knicks are trying to hold fast to a playoff position.

17.   Not their playoff position, not their chances in the first round, nothing.

18.   Perhaps the roller-coaster nature of a young team has left fans more shocked than rabid about its playoff position.

19.   Pressroom updates concerned the contest at Fenway, not late-season jockeying for NBA playoff position.

20.   Six of those games come in September, when a playoff position could be on the line.