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Clippers (36-23) vs. Golden State Warriors (22-36) at Staples Center, 12 p.m. PT

Five storylines to track:

1. Historic season: The Clippers are now 13 games over .500 (36-23) this season. It's only the third time that the Clippers have been more than five games over .500 this many games into a season since moving to Los Angeles in 1984. They finished the season eight games over .500 in 1991-92 and 12 games over .500 in 2005-06. Those are the only two seasons in which the Clippers finished over .500 since moving to L.A. The Clippers surpassed their victory total from last season on April 5, and their 35 wins are the most for the club since winning 40 in 2006-07. The Clippers 36-23 record this season after 59 games is the second-best in franchise history, trailing only the 1974-75 Buffalo Braves who were 37-22 after 59 games.

2. Road warriors: After defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, the Clippers are 15-14 (.517) on the road this season The Clippers are attempting to finish the season with a .500 or better road record for the first time since 1984. The most road wins for the Clippers was 20 when they went 20-21 during the 2005-06 season. The Clippers success on the road is key considering they finish the season playing four of their last five games on the road after Monday night. The Clippers have also been one of the most popular teams on the road this season. The Clippers rank third in the league in road attendance, just behind the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers.

3. Mo is back: Clippers guard Mo Williams returned Thursday in Minnesota after missing the last 11 games because of a sprained left big toe suffered on March 22 in New Orleans. Williams immediately made an impact, scoring 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc with five assists and one steal in 20 minutes. It was the most points Williams has scored since he had 25 on March 14. Williams is still an outside candidate for the Sixth Man of The Year award, averaging 13.6 points and 3.2 assists while starting just one of the 45 games he has appeared in. This season, the Clippers bench has scored a total of 1,446 points, with Williams (559 points) accounting for 42.3 percent of them.

4. K-Mart open: Clippers forward Kenyon Martin has also given the Clippers a spark off the bench this season. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field Thursday night against the Timberwolves. It was only the third time in Martin’s 12-year NBA career that he was perfect from the field while attempting at least four shots. He was 10-of-10 for Denver vs. the Bulls on Nov. 23, 2008 and 5-for-5 for the Nuggets against Portland on Dec. 28, 2010. Martin is averaging 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in the last three games, while shooting 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from the field. Overall this season, Martin is shooting 44.4 percent from the field.

5. Long distance: The Clippers haven’t been shy about attempting 3-pointers this season. The Clippers attempted 31 3-point attempts in their win over Minnesota Thursday night. It was the third time this season the Clippers have attempted 31 or more 3-pointers, and the Clippers are 3-0 in those games. Since the 1985-86 season, the Clippers have only had 10 total games with over 31 3-point attempts, including the three this season. Since 1985-86, the Clippers are 6-4 when attempting 31 or more 3-pointers. The franchise record for 3-point attempts is 37 on Feb. 11, 2009 in an overtime win over the New York Knicks.

LOS ANGELES -- In a city where imitation isn’t so much a form of flattery but simply par for the course, it made sense that Chris Paul would sport the same clear protective mask Kobe Bryant has made famous during the past two weeks.

Much like Prada shoes, Gucci bags and Louis Vuitton purses, you can just imagine clear masks sprouting up all over Rodeo Drive in the coming days.

Until the Clippers learn how to win close games, however, Paul’s mask and the rest of the Clippers will always be viewed as knockoffs in this town.

While Bryant and his mask are 4-0 at Staples Center, Paul’s mask debuted with a 97-93 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night. The Clippers are now 4-7 in their last 11 games and haven’t won back-to-back games in a month.

The Clippers will wake up Monday morning for the first time since the first week of the season and find themselves in second place in the Pacific Division behind the Lakers. It has been a familiar reality for the Clippers for the past 30 years but it wasn’t supposed to be that way this season.

This season was supposed to be different because Paul was supposed to be different. The Clippers have never had a player like him, and through the first 28 games, things were different. The Clippers were 19-9. They had come back from double-digit deficits consistently and found ways to win in buildings they hadn’t won in since Clinton or Bush were in the White House.

Those days seem like a distant memory inside the Clippers' locker room right now. As Paul sat in front of his locker after Sunday’s loss to Golden State, he tried to search for ways to describe how the Clippers fell behind by 21 points in the third quarter to a 17-20 team not in the playoff hunt.

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Clippers (23-15) vs. Golden State Warriors (16-21) at Staples Center, 6:30 p.m. PT

Five storylines to track:

1. Back-to-back: Perhaps no stat better indicates the Clippers' struggles and inconsistent play as of late than the fact they have not won back-to-back games since Feb. 16. After beating Washington and Portland, the Clippers lost six of their next nine games, including a 104-97 loss to Golden State. After their best offensive performance of the season in a 120-108 win over the San Antonio Spurs, the Clippers’ first win in San Antonio since 2002, the Clippers think they have turned the tide. The Clippers have also lost two of their last three at home. A win against Golden State would not only give them back-to-back wins for the first time in nearly a month but would help set the tone for their six games in eight days at home.

2. Waters of March: The Clippers’ best offensive performance and perhaps their biggest win of the season couldn’t have come at a better time. They salvaged a 3-3 road trip, stayed in first place in the Pacific Division by percentage points and will now try to navigate through the rest of the rough waters in March, where the Clippers play 20 games in 31 days. The Clippers are the first team in 45 years since the Cincinnati Royals in February 1967 to play at least 20 games in a month. The Clippers are 3-3 so far this month, with 11 of their next 14 games coming at home.

3. CP3 steps up: Chris Paul had his best game as a Clipper against the Spurs, posting 36 points and 11 assists in the win. Paul became only the third visiting NBA player to score more than 35 points and hand out more than 10 assists in a game at San Antonio. The only two other players to do so were Paul Westphal in March 1979 (43 points and 11 assists for the Suns) and Isiah Thomas in February 1983 (46 points and 11 assists in an overtime game for the Pistons). Paul is the only player in Clippers history to record a game with at least 35 points, 10 assists and 4 steals. Since the 2000-01 season, Paul is one of just seven players to have at least 36 points, 11 assists, 4 steals and 4 rebounds in a game. The last player to do it was Warriors guard Monta Ellis, who will play Paul on Sunday.

4. Butler’s in: Probably the biggest X-factor for the Clippers this season is Caron Butler. The 10-year forward has struggled over the last 10 games but may have finally worked his way out of his scoring slump in the Clippers’ win at San Antonio. Butler scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and added 3 assists. When Butler scores 13 or more points the Clippers are 15-7. Before the Spurs game, Butler failed to score a single point in the Clippers’ loss to Minnesota on March 5. It was the first time in six years that Butler had not scored in a game.

5. Mo-mentum off the bench: Clippers guard Mo Williams continues to make his case for Sixth Man of the Year honors. Against the Spurs, he exploded for a season-high 33 points, going 12-of-19 from the field, and equaling a career-high by going 7-of-9 from beyond the arc. It was the first time since April 8, 2010, that he had scored over 30 points in a game. It was just the 14th time in Clippers history that a player has come off the bench to score at least 30 points and only the ninth time this season that a player has come off the bench in an NBA game to score at least 33 points.

Clippers (19-10) vs. Golden State Warriors (11-17) at Oracle Arena, 7:30 p.m. PT

Five storylines to track:

1. Road warriors: Unlike their Staples Center neighbors, the Clippers have shown they can win on the road this season. The Clippers are 8-6 on the road this season and have won 7 of their last 9 games away from home after starting 1-4. The Clippers have never finished with an above .500 record on the road as a franchise and can actually equal their road win total from last season (9-32) with a win against Golden State on Monday. Not only have the Clippers been winning on the road, they’ve been coming back from big deficits to do so. Against Portland last week the Clippers overcame an 18-point deficit to defeat the Trail Blazers 74-71. The Clippers rally in Portland was the team’s fifth road win since Jan. 29 in which they have comeback from a deficit of 10 or more points. Prior to this season, the Clippers' last four road wins in which they overcame a double-digit deficit came in four different years.

2. The 20/20 Club: Blake Griffin recorded the first 20-point, 20-rebound game of his career against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday when he had 22 points and 20 rebounds before fouling out. Griffin is the only player in the NBA this season averaging over 21 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3 assists. Griffin is also shooting 53.4% from the floor. Since the 1990-91 season, only four different players have finished a season with those averages and shooting percentage. Since the introduction of the shot clock in 1954 only 8 different players have finishes a season with those numbers and Griffin, 22, is the youngest to accomplish the feat so far.

3. Rebounding back: For the first time this season, the Clippers are in the top half of the NBA (14) in rebounding after being ranked last for much of the first month of the season. The biggest difference has been the return of Reggie Evans, who missed the first five games of the season with an off-season injury, and the signing of Kenyon Martin, who made his debut Feb. 8. Suddenly the Clippers no longer need to depend on Brian Cook and Solomon Jones for minutes when Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan need rest. In fact, since Evans’ return and Martin’s signing Jones has been cut and Cook hardly sees the floor anymore. The Clippers have outrebounded their opponents in their last nine games and have had more offensive rebounds in seven straight games. That should continue Monday night as the Warriors were outrebounded 45-31 Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies. Golden State's minus-4.46 rebounding differential is one of the worst in the league while the Clippers' plus-3.14 margin is one of the best in the league.

4. Bounce back game: Chris Paul called his costly turnover at the end of regulation against the Spurs on Saturday the worst play of his career. He also promised it would never happen again and the Clippers for the most part simply chalked up the loss as another learning experience. “Obviously, disappointing and frustrating and all that, but there’s no time for a pity party here,” Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said Sunday afternoon. “We let one slip away yesterday and we’ve also been able to win some games down the stretch this year. You have to learn from it, you have to get better and you have to work.” The good news for the Clippers is they usually respond well after a loss. They have yet to lose back-to-back games in 2012. The last time the Clippers lost two in a row was on Dec. 28 and 30 at the start of this season.

5. Bledsoe's return: As disappointed as the Clippers were in not landing free agent guard J.R. Smith, who ended up signing with the New York Knicks, the Clippers got a pleasant surprise on Saturday with the play of second year guard Eric Bledsoe, who got his first extended minutes of the season after only playing a total of 19 minutes while recovering from off-season knee surgery. While he didn’t score, Bledsoe was a playmaker on the court in the third quarter, leading the Clippers to a 17-3 run to cut the Spurs’ 15-point lead and finishing with a team-high +14 in the +/- department. His between the legs pass to Griffin for a dunk on a fast break during that run could be sign of things to come in the future when he gets on the court.