Blake Griffin has returned to his usual explosive self just when the Los Angeles Clippers need him most.
With several rim-rocking dunks in the Clippers’ 115-95 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in their playoff opener on Sunday, Griffin brought back some of the ‘Lob City’ excitement which had recently gone missing.
The power forward totalled 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in his best performance since returning from a 45-game absence at the start of the month.
“I felt really good,” Griffin said. “Our offense was really clicking. We were doing the things that we wanted to do and that helps when you’re getting easy shots. I got some right at the basket early, so that helps.”
Griffin’s signature dunking ability was on display throughout the contest. He first lifted the crowd in attendance at the Staples Center by knocking over Portland guard Damian Lillard on a post-up before posterising Mason Plumlee midway through the opening quarter.
Griffin once again soared over Plumlee on a drive from the perimeter in the third period and then added the punctuation mark just two minutes later with a two-handed throw-down, with Plumlee again the victim on a fast break.
Chris Paul feeds Blake Griffin for the MONSTER SLAM to lead Sunday's Top 10 Plays!https://t.co/buMXeEVvV5
— NBA (@NBA) April 18, 2016
“He was explosive,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “Blake got himself going through the flow of what we were doing. Today was the first day he had great timing.”
While the 27-year-old was on the shelf due to a fractured hand for most of the season, there was talk of Los Angeles being a better team without him in their line-up as they went 30-15 during his absence.
Since Griffin has returned, however, the Clippers have not only kept up their winning pace, but been a perfect 6-0 (including playoffs) in games he’s played in.
“I’m not really worried about the whole, ‘Can he get back or will he be able to play at a high level,’” Griffin said. “It’s just about filling those gaps for our team and finding ways to help.”
While the Clippers still have to earn three more wins to get past the Trail Blazers (Game 2 is on Thursday, 06:30 UAE time), their bug-a-boo over the recent years has been a failure to advance past the conference semi-finals.
Plenty of obstacles remain in their path, but Griffin’s return to form significantly bolsters the Clippers’ chances. Griffin’s front-court mate, centre DeAndre Jordan, said:“If he plays like that, we’re a great team.”
