"Thanks so much, Blake Griffin. No, seriously — we really appreciate you hustling like that in the first quarter of a Sunday matinee against the Pistons. Just knowing that a single possession means enough to you to chance getting injured by careening into the front row ... well, that alone is worth the exorbitant price of floor seats plus around $65 worth of popcorn, drinks and nachos. Thanks for showing us you care! Love you!" — These ladies, probably.
After the mess was cleaned up and Griffin had toweled off, he and Chris Paul "walked over to the woman who was struck and shook her hand," according to Melissa Rohlin of the Los Angeles Times. That's nice manners and all, but I think I'd still be pretty bummed about feeling kind of gross for the next three-plus quarters. Being sticky is the worst.
Actually, no. I'm wrong. Being sticky is the second-worst; this could have ended worse for these ladies. Just ask Phoenix Suns vice chairman Jahm Najafi. (How soon we forget.)
Hit the jump for more on Griffin's front-row excursion and more on Sunday's top sports stories from our friends at the Yahoo! Sports Minute.
The rough bump and messy play actually presaged a pretty tough day ahead for Griffin, who found himself frustrated on offense by what Greg Beacham of the Associated Press called the Detroit Pistons' "uncommonly aggressive defense." Griffin also had his hands full with Detroit's front line on the other end of the court, including fellow sophomore big man Greg Monroe, who popped for 23 points and 15 rebounds to give the Pistons a shot at scoring the upset over a Clippers team playing its sixth game in eight days.
With Detroit clinging to a 74-72 lead late in the fourth quarter, though, Griffin's hustle paid dividends.
The second-year forward worked for offensive rebounding position to tip in a CP3 miss with 19 seconds left in regulation and push the game to overtime. Paul took over in the extra frame, scoring nine of his 19 points to help the Clips escape with an 87-83 home victory. L.A.'s All-Star point guard also dished out a season-high 15 assists in the win. Griffin finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, his 27th double-double of the season.
Is the clip above not rocking for you? Please feel free to peruse the spill elsewhere, thanks to our friends at the National Basketball Association.
No comments:
Post a Comment