Blake Griffin’s absence from the LA Clippers’ lineup is set to continue after he fractured his right hand in an altercation with a member of the team’s equipment staff.
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Chris Paul scored 26 points and J.J.
“You’d have to go a long way to convince me that we’re a better team winning in the Finals without a player like Kevin on our team”, Griffin said on ESPN 850 AM in Cleveland.
IN made only 15 of 43 second-half shots (34.9 percent).
“I’m not satisfied”, Rivers said.
Asked if he was satisfied with Griffin’s explanation of the incident, Rivers replied: “I’m not satisfied with anything”. We don’t talk about injuries for guys who aren’t playing.
A person with knowledge of the incident said Griffin and equipment manager Matias Testi got into an argument during a dinner that escalated.
“I think all the stuff in the last 48 hours, you always say it’s the game that brings your team back”, Rivers said. “You could feel that (Tuesday)”.
The fight, or bullying, isn’t a good sign for team that hopes to compete with the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors for an opportunity at the NBA Finals.
The Thunder squeezed home 128-122 with Durant also contributing 14 rebounds and five assists while draining four three-pointers from seven attempts. “We just did a bad job during that (eight-minute) stretch”. “It was just poor execution on our part”.
–Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is day to day with hamstring and back injuries.
Rivers’ immediate focus was on getting the rest of his team ready for Tuesday night’s matchup in Indiana. Different guys have to step up. “We barely won that one. I expected to win”.
Pacers: Played at home for only the fourth time in January and the first time in 11 days….
The Clippers then deflected an inbound pass in the frontcourt out of bounds on the opposite side and in the Pacers’ backcourt, running off all but 0.3 seconds. IN rode the likely scoring from Paul George and the slightly less likely scoring from Myles Turner. He played Saturday at Sacramento but did not start….
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Griffin’s production may be harder to replace in this matchup, as he’s averaged 24.6 points on 57.0 percent shooting in his last five against the Hawks.
