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Griffin Shakes Off Slow Start, Focused On Coming Up Big Late

Rowan Kavner

LOS ANGELES – Blake Griffin doesn’t know whether or not he would have put himself in the same position years ago.

Griffin, who missed his first six shots and only recorded his first field goal with 1:14 remaining in the first half, craved the ball leading by one point with five seconds remaining in the game and a chance to pass to Jamal Crawford or another teammate.

Instead of dishing the ball, he took the foul from Thunder center Steven Adams, sank two crucial free throws and helped lead the Clippers to an opening night win against the Thunder.

“I thought I could get away from Adams, but apparently he lunged,” Griffin said. “So he got to me. But I’m not going to shy away from a situation like that.”

Would he have done the same thing a couple years ago?

“I don’t know,” Griffin said. “But I will now.”

Griffin said he needs to be a reliable player and a leader down the stretch when the team needs him most. He said shooting will come and go, but that’s an area he can be consistent.

Even after missing three of his first eight free throws on the night, Griffin drew the foul and confidently knocked down both shots, giving the Clippers a 91-88 lead with five seconds left. Without late free throws from Griffin and J.J. Redick, Thursday’s opener could have had a much different outcome.

Griffin said he’s “very comfortable” with being the go-to guy late in games, even if he didn’t give that as much thought earlier in his career.

“That’s a big step for me is being somebody that our team can rely on down the stretch,” Griffin said. “I’m comfortable with it, but at the same time, Chris (Paul) and I have to work off each other. I think we do a pretty good job at that, but we can do better.”

Paul had 22 points and seven assists, but he was uncharacteristically 3-of-7 from the line, including a couple misses with 13 seconds left in the game. He said he’ll be in the gym shooting free throws early tomorrow morning to ensure something like that doesn’t happen again.

He also complimented Griffin for knocking his two down and said he expects Griffin to do that. Griffin does, too. 

“It’s a part of being on a team,” Griffin said. “It’s your time to step up and make a play, J.J. did the same thing. It’s not something that I’m going to shy away from, like I said.”

Griffin played well enough for head coach Doc Rivers to come up to him after the game and tell him how proud he was of him. That wasn’t necessarily because of his clutch shots, but more playing through tough situations throughout the night.

“No pouting, kept playing, kept playing defense, stayed engaged,” Rivers said. “He had several calls that went against him, even a sixth foul where the guy’s clearly trying to push him out of bounds, and he gets that foul. He just kept his composure.”

Despite the slow start, Griffin finished as the Clippers’ leading scorer, pouring in 23 points and adding seven rebounds and three assists. Five of those rebounds came on the offensive glass. The Clippers lost the total rebounding battle but finished with six more offensive rebounds than the Thunder.

“I have to keep being aggressive,” Griffin said. “I’ve been through enough games to know that the first half play doesn’t dictate the rest of the game, so I had to keep that confidence and keep putting them up.”

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