Clippers Edge Lakers, Wait on Griffin
The LA Clippers enjoyed a bittersweet victory over their local rivals, the LA Lakers on Monday night.
The Clippers won the game 120 – 115 but now sweat over the status of All-Star power forward Blake Griffin.
Griffin left the court late in the fourth quarter and didn’t return. He is expected to have a medical evaluation today.
With 3:53 left, Blake Griffin collided with teammate Austin Rivers and Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball under the basket and landed on his left knee. It appears it was the collision with Rivers that caused Griffin to land awkwardly.
He finished the game with 26 points, 11 boards, six assists and also three 3-pointers.
https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/935386663508987905
With Griffin’s poor injury record in the NBA, Clippers fans will be worried that this injury could damage their chances to do well this season.
On the injury, Rivers said:
“Lonzo knocked someone into Blake and it was a trigger effect. Blake said he was OK. Then he just couldn’t move. He’s hoping it was just a bang.”
The 8-11 Clippers recorded their 11th straight home victory against the 8-12 Lakers at the Staples Center. It was also their third consecutive win in all matches. Their season record against their local rivals is now 2 – 0.
Injury Record
Lou Williams scored a season-high of 42 points to help the Clippers rally in the fourth quarter. He also made 3 assists and 4 rebounds. He was 2 points short of his career best for a single game.
Austin Rivers also made a telling contribution to the game. He finished with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Lakers were led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 29 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. As well as that, Lonzo Ball now has three triple-doubles for the season.
Coming into the game, Blake Griffin had an average of 23.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and five assists in 35.8 minutes a night. He signed a 5-year contract worth $173 million to play for the Clippers during the off-season. In spite of injuries, this is his eighth NBA season.
The Clippers next game is on Thursday against the Utah Jazz.
