A short-handed LA Clippers team stunned the Houston Rockets in their series-opener Monday night, stealing Game 1 117-101, behind Blake Griffin’s second consecutive triple-double.
No Chris Paul for the @LAClippers tonight.
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) May 5, 2015
Griffin finished with 26 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists in the big victory.
BG did it all for his squad with an injured Chris Paul watching from the sidelines, and even displayed some of his teammate’s mannerisms on the floor en route to his third triple-dip this postseason.
Per the LA Times:
“I got on him because he started doing the Chris thing,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said, referring to the star point guard he held out because of a strained left hamstring. “He stopped looking to score and I told him, at one point, ‘We need you to do everything,’ and he did it.”
The big showing helped the Clippers win without their primary leader on the road against a team coming off nearly a week of rest. […] “My main message throughout the entire game was to stay together,” Griffin said. “There was no reason for us to crumble and fall apart.”
(Jamal) Crawford had 21 points off the bench and (Matt) Barnes scored 20. Austin Rivers, making his first career playoff start, had 17 points, four steals and three assists to go with three turnovers, and DeAndre Jordan had 10 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. […] That more than offset Dwight Howard’s 22 points for Houston. Rockets shooting guard James Harden scored 20 points on a shaky six-for-13 shooting in his first game since finishing second to Golden State’s Stephen Curry in balloting for the NBA’s most valuable player award.
