On a day where men and women across America took time to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. the Los Angeles Clippers welcomed the New Jersey Nets to Staples Center for a 12:30pm matinee matchup.
The Nets lead by All-Star point guard Deron Williams, have kicked off the young NBA season with a dismal 3-11 record due in part to an injury depleted roster.
The Clippers also facing injuries of their own to guards Chris Paul (strained hamstring), Mo Williams (sore foot) and forward Brian Cook (ankle) were forced to juggle their rotation by inserting reserve guard Randy Foye to the starting lineup.
Forwards Blake Griffin and Caron Butler made sure the Clippers came out of the gates flying high with a red hot first quarter which saw the Clippers lead by as many as 15 points.
Griffin dazzled the sold out crowd of 19,060 with his high flying dunks and spin moves at times making whoever was guarding him look obsolete. He led the game with 23 points and 14 rebounds, but struggled at the line making only 5-13 free throws. Butler connected on outside jumpers early, which helped open up the paint for Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to attack the rim at will.
Butler’s afternoon ended very productively with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
Blake Griffin Dunks in the Face of Kris Humphries
Twitter Reacts to Blake's Dunk
@Wordsmith234: Dat Blake Griffin MIGHTY dunk on Kris Humphries was in d words of a Sportscenter analyst "d worst ting 2 happen 2 Kris since Kim left him!"
@outsidethenba: Blake Griffin kinda killed Kris Humphries with a lefty dunk, people.
@ramonashelburne: This would've been good advice for Kris Humphries on Blake's last dunk @_DosEquisMan Continents don't drift, they back away slowly from him.
@KingWemi: Blake Griffin really didnt have to dunk Kris Humphries like that last night, he's been through enough.
@willclarkfan22: O_o OMFG that Blake Griffin dunk on Humphries was nasty.
Billups Running the Point
Starting at his natural point guard position to fill in for the injured Paul, Chauncey Billups took on part of the scoring load with 20 points including 7-7 from the free throw line and 3-5 from deep including a clutch 4th quarter shot that sealed the victory for the Clippers.
The Clippers’ defense held the Nets to 42% shooting, blocked 8 shots, and out-rebounded them 46-35 largely in part to efforts by Griffin, Jordan, and reserve Reggie Evans who has quickly become a fan favorite. The Clippers themselves shot 46% from the field, but a horrid 54% from the free throw line, and committed 14 turnovers.
New Jersey’s Deron Williams, had a solid individual effort adding 14 points and 6 assists.
The 101-91 win extends the Clippers home winning streak to 6 with an overall record of 7-3 putting them at 2nd place in the Western Conference standings. The loss for the Nets drops their record to 3-11 and 13th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Next up for the Clippers is the second game of their 3-in-a-row where they travel to Utah to face the Jazz at the Energy Solutions Arena with a 6pm tip off.
Follow Blake Griffin and Red Bull on Twitter for more news and exclusive info.
Comments
Add a comment