The Los Angeles Clippers were supposed to be crippled without Chris Paul.
Only thing is, they still have this guy named Blake Griffin.
In a game hardly anybody picked the Clippers to win with Paul sitting due to a left hamstring injury, L.A. stunned the Houston Rockets and their home crowd 117-101 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Monday.
Griffin led the way with 26 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high 13 assists, his second straight triple-double and third of the postseason. Things didn't start out well for the Clippers in the first half though, with Paul's replacement Austin Rivers struggling early - he turned the ball over on one possession, trying to go behind the back.
The Rockets led 50-46 at halftime, making it the lowest-scoring first half of these playoffs for Houston.
Turning point
The tide turned in the second half, however. The Clippers outscored the Rockets 37-27 in the third quarter, and Rivers settled down.
Clippers saw big improvement when Austin Rivers brought the ball up in the 3rd
6-19, 15 points in 1st half
8-11, 24 points in 3rd quarter
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 5, 2015
The Clippers also leaned on Griffin as more of primary ballhandler as well. "One of the things we told our guards was be aggressive scorers and let Blake be the facilitator," coach Doc Rivers said after the win.
To that end, the Clippers tied a playoff record for threes in a half, hitting 11-of-16 in the second half - they had gone 2-of-15 in the first.
James Harden scored 20 points and notched a career-high 12 assists for Houston, but he also turned the ball over nine times.
Star performer
Griffin is in full-throttle beast mode, and he just keeps going. Dwight Howard called him "the Energizer Bunny" Monday. He played 40 minutes for the seventh time in eight games, and his triple-double came on 9-of-19 shooting and 8-of-10 from the line. Griffin becomes the first player since Jason Kidd in 2002 to register back-to-back triple-doubles in the postseason.
Blake Griffin is 3rd non-guard with back-to-back playoff triple-doubles
(John Havlicek in 1968, Wilt Chamberlain 2x in 1967) (via ELIAS)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 5, 2015
Highlight reel
Howard was all about the rim in the first half, be it protecting it ...
Or destroying it ...
Howard finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a losing effort.
Series at a glance
Game 1: Clippers 117, Rockets 101
Game 2: Wednesday, May 6, 9:30 p.m. ET
Game 3: Friday, May 8, 10:30 p.m. ET
Game 4: Sunday, May 10, 8:30 p.m. ET
Game 5*: Tuesday, May 12, TBD
Game 6*: Thursday, May 14, TBD
Game 7*: Sunday, May 17, TBD
*If necessary
