Houston declined to participate, as did the TNT crew. They all mailed it in, as Los Angeles had announced Chris Paul would not play.

I noticed their lackluster demeanor out of the gate – maybe they assumed they’d win. And it appeared ugly at first. Austin Rivers was a little uncomfortable as the replacement point guard. Houston went up by 13 and it looked grim. Nonetheless, an intensified Clippers effort primarily on defense put us within four by halftime.

We were ready in the second half. Rivers knocked down our third three of the game, an ongoing theme. We outscored the Rockets 71-51 in the second half behind J.J. Redick bombs, Matt Barnes treys, and one deadly sequence with two corner coffin nails by Barnes and Jamal Crawford.

Crawford also filled in as point guard. The lineup of Jamal-J.J.-Barnes-Griffin-DeAndre was more than capable of beating “ugly beard,” unserious center, and a host of washed up players. They came unglued towards the end of the third. An essentially tie ball game went to us leading six at the break. Failing to take care of business was something LA thrived on all night. We smelled blood in the water going into the final period.

Griffin finished with another triple-double and looked comfortable handling the ball. We caught fire midway through and drained those consecutive triples to lead 99-88 at the five minute mark. Houston brought it back within eight, but Crawford drew a blocking foul to seal the momentum. It was an all-around team effort that few gave us a chance in. Not that anyone’s opinion matters, anyways.