After getting knocked down in their play-off opener, Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers answered with a dominant performance in shutting down the Golden State Warriors as soon as the game began.
Griffin scored a career play-off high 35 points without a foul and Los Angeles led all the way in a 138-98 rout Monday night to even their first-round series at a game apiece.
“We were really aggressive on our defence,” Griffin said. “When you play more aggressive you stay out of foul trouble.”
Chris Paul added 12 points and 10 assists for the Clippers, who started the game on a 14-4 run and kept on going, maintaining a sizeable double-digit lead through the final three quarters. They finished with franchise records for points and largest victory margin in a play-off game.
“When we play with that force and thrust, it’s hard to defend us,” Paul said.
Game 3 is Thursday at Oakland.
All the foul trouble that plagued Griffin and Paul in the Clippers’ four-point loss in Game 1 belonged to the Warriors this time.
Stephen Curry scored 20 of his 24 points in the third quarter, when the Warriors never got closer than 25 points, while he played with four fouls. Klay Thompson finished with seven points – 15 under his average – and four fouls. Andre Iguodala, who fouled out of Game 1, and Jermaine O’Neal had four points and three fouls each.
The Clippers’ defence forced 26 turnovers, and offensively they had their way – getting out in transition, attacking the rim and throwing lobs that led to dunks.
“We were awful,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “They disrupted us with their intensity. That was a desperate basketball team we played against.”
Los Angeles shot 57 per cent, made 12-of-25 three-pointers, hit 32-of-35 free throws for a play-off record 91 per cent and owned a 25-13 edge in fastbreak points.
“We really kept the game simple. When a guy had an open shot, he took it. When he didn’t, he passed,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “It’s very difficult to guard when the ball moves as quickly as it did.”
The Clippers’ lead grew to a 37-point bulge early in the fourth on a three-pointer by Matt Barnes, their only starter who played, albeit briefly, in the final period. He finished with 13 points. Danny Granger had 15 points before fouling out. DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and nine rebounds.
The teams with a history of bad blood between them jawed in the fourth, when Clippers Hedo Turkoglu and Glen Davis got into it with Marreese Speights of the Warriors. Davis and Speights were called for double technicals.
The Warriors’ frustration boiled over with 42 seconds left when Jordan Crawford was called for a flagrant foul for shoving Darren Collison, who was bringing the ball upcourt.
Griffin had 21 points in 20 minutes of the first half, one minute more than he played in the Clippers’ loss on Saturday. He fouled out of that game, when Paul was also in foul trouble and made several mistakes in the closing minutes after the Clippers rallied to tie the game late.
“Blake took it when he had it, moved it when he didn’t,” Rivers said. “He stayed on the attack, which is what we wanted. Great mental toughness by Blake. He was phenomenal.”
The Clippers began similarly to their 12-1 start of two days ago. This time, though, the referees’ whistles were blowing at the Warriors. Thompson, O’Neal and Iguodala all had three each by halftime, when they trailed 67-41.
“We came out with a sense of urgency, but nothing was clicking,” Curry said. “They just outplayed us from start to finish.”
Grizzlies 111, Thunder 105 (Series tied 1-1)
Nothing rattled the Memphis Grizzlies.
Not squandering a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter and a five-point lead in the final 19 seconds of regulation. Not Kevin Durant’s 20 points after the third quarter. Not even giving up an improbable game-tying putback that forced overtime.
The Grizzlies remained steady and took care of business in the extra period. Zach Randolph scored 25 points to help Memphis defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-105 in overtime on Monday night and tie their first-round play-off series at one game apiece.
“It was just staying confident, understanding that those guys are going to make runs,” Memphis forward Tony Allen said. “We’ve got to weather the storm by staying together and not getting down.”
Mike Conley added 19 points and 12 assists for the Grizzlies, who executed their game plan perfectly and put themselves in position to take control of the series in Game 3 Thursday night in Memphis. Oklahoma City pushed the pace through most of their 100-86 victory in Game 1, but on Monday, the Grizzlies successfully slowed the tempo and limited Oklahoma City’s fast-break opportunities.
“Basically it’s just going to be a slugfest,” said Allen, who was praised by his teammates for playing solid defence against Durant. “We’re going to pound it. They’re going to run it. Whoever can come up with the most stops pretty much wins the game.”
Oklahoma City’s stars put up big numbers, but they worked for everything they got. Durant had 36 points and 11 rebounds, but he made just 12-of-28 shots and had just eight points at halftime and 16 through the first three quarters. Russell Westbrook scored 29 points for Oklahoma City, but he made just 11-of-28 shots. Serge Ibaka added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, who shot just under 40 per cent from the field.
“We missed some shots that we could make,” Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. “Give them some credit. They did a good job of putting their hands on us and we didn’t free ourselves up enough. I thought in the second half, our defence and offence gave us a chance. Unfortunately, we didn’t make a couple of key plays down the stretch.”
Randolph’s layup with 26 seconds left in overtime put the Grizzlies up by two. Ibaka travelled, giving the ball back to the Grizzlies.
Courtney Lee made two free throws for Memphis to make it a four-point game. Durant missed a three-pointer and Randolph made two free throws with nine seconds left to put the game out of reach and give Memphis’ Dave Joerger his first play-off win as a head coach.
“Tremendous game to be a part of,” Joerger said. “I honestly can tell you that, whether you win or lose. I know that we won. But I thought it was a great game to be a part of. The game was never over. There was a lot of great plays and not just the-ball-going-in kind of plays - loose ball, passion, play-off basketball.”