Los Angeles—Blake Griffin continued his magnificent all around performance on the court. He finished the game with 26 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the inhospitable 123-78 win over the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday.
It was a good night for the Clippers. Chris Paul was inserted back in the starting lineup, and Los Angeles beat Philadelphia by a whopping 45 points; which was the largest win for the franchise.
Paul was electrified to be on the floor playing rather than watching from the bench. His shoulder seemed to be healed up, he had no troublesome whatsoever handling the ball, scoring seven points and dishing out eight assists in just 23 minutes.
“It felt great just to play. You never know what it’s going to be like until you actually get out there and compete,” Paul said. “A lot of things go through your mind out there, especially when you come back because you want to make sure you’re not too tired and not trying too hard.”
Jamal Crawford and De Andre Jordan lended a helping hand in the ungracious beat down. Crawford added 21 points and Jordan flexed his muscles around the rim throughout the game grabbing 20 rebounds, and scoring 10 points.
“Our defense really set the tone,” Crawford said. “When we’re covering for each other like that and playing together, it makes it tough on other teams and kind of breaks their rhythm.”
Sasha Vujacic who is still trying to earn a permanent spot on the roster had a chance to make his debut in the NBA. Vujacic didn’t waste his opportunity to showcase his skills making two baskets. He’s currently on a 10-day contract with Los Angeles.
This game was dead at half time. The Clippers had a very comfortable 69-30 lead. The Sixers had no chance on God’s green earth of making a comeback.
Meanwhile, the Clippers continue to improve and gel as a team.
While Paul was out nursing a right separated shoulder, Griffin was able to bond with the team. The team went 12-6 in Paul’s absence, but most importantly they were able to find their identity. The chemistry is coming together and players know their role and purpose on the team.
With this victory the Clippers move to 36-18 and hold the fourth spot in the Western Conference Standings. They are only 1.5 games behind the Portland Trailblazers. Both teams are playing exceptional basketball. But the talk around the NBA is who’s the better Forward Griffin or LaMarcus Aldridge. It’s hard to say, but someone will be able to walk away with bragging rights Wednesday night.
Tamara is a graduate of Cal State Los Angeles where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism. Tamara is passionate about covering sports. She has covered the NBA and Major League Baseball routinely for the past several years. A Southern California native, Tamara developed her skills as a sports journalist while working for various Los Angeles-based news publications.
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