Charles Barkley calls Clippers one of two top teams in West

The Clippers’ total dismantling of the woebegone Lakers on Thursday in epic proportion elicited all sorts of responses about the greatness of the Clippers.

Just listen to what basketball Hall of Famer and TNT analysts Charles Barkley had to say about who the best teams in the Western Conference are.

“The two best teams in the Western Conference are the Los Angeles Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder…in that order,� Barkley said Thursday during the telecast of the Clippers-Lakers game.

Indeed, the Clippers are playing their best basketball of the season, posting a season-best six-game winning streak.

Their 48-point smack-down of the Lakers was their largest margin of victory over any opponent ever in franchise history.

But Barkley seemed to overlook the San Antonio Spurs, who ran over the two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat on Thursday night.

The Spurs are riding a five-game winning streak, are getting healthy, defeated the Clippers in the first game after the All-Star break and have a 2-1 lead in the season series.

The Thunder lead the West, owning a half-game lead over the Spurs and 3 1/2-game lead over the Clippers, who are the fourth seed behind the third-seeded Houston Rockets.

The Clippers didn’t practice Friday, but will be back at work Saturday night when they host the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center.

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