In their season opener, the Clippers beat the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season,. Well, a severely hobbled version of the Oklahoma City Thunder. By a hair, 93-90.
The Thunder, who entered Thursday's game without superstar forward Kevin Durant (foot), among others, also lost All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook in the second quarter after he injured his right hand.
The Thunder cut the Clippers' once eight-point lead to one, 89-88, with just under two minutes remaining after Sebastian Telfair made a three-pointer.
J.J. Redick then missed consecutive jumpers, giving the Thunder multiple chances to take the lead. Luckily for the Clippers, DeAndre Jordan stole the ball from Steven Adams, dished it to Chris Paul, and the Thunder fouled Paul with 13.8 seconds left, sending him to the free-throw line.
Unluckily for the Clippers, Paul, who is still beating himself up from the team's Game 5 loss to the Thunder last year, missed both of his free throws.
Telfair proceeded to miss his shot on the other end, and Blake Griffin was fouled and made both of his free throws. Griffin fouled out with 4.1 seconds left.
In the final seconds, Nick Collison made a free throw. Redick made two. And Serge Ibaka missed a three-point attempt that sealed the win for the Clippers.
Neither team shot well -- the Clippers went 34 for 87 from the field (39.1%) and the Thunder didn't do much better, 28 for 65 (43.1%).
Rebounding, which Doc Rivers says is the Clippers' biggest weakness, continues to be a problem. After being outrebounded in all eight preseason games, the Clippers were once again outdone on the boards, 47-33, in their opener.
Griffin finished with 23 points and seven rebounds. Paul had 22 points and seven assists while Jamal Crawford added 16 points.
Perry Jones led the Thuner with 32 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Westbrook had two points and four assists in eight minutes.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer added a burst of excitement from his baseline seat. He raucously cheered the whole game, and even ran around giving other fans high-fives and stopped to take a photo with singer Fergie.
The Clippers play again at 7:30 p.m. Friday against the Lakers at Staples Center.
Clippers 70, Thunder 62 (end of third quarter)
The good news for the Clippers: They have the lead.
The bad news for the Clippers: They're only up by eight points even though Oklahoma City is playing without Kevin Durant (foot) and Russell Westbrook, who left the game in the second quarter because of an injury to his right hand.
Blake Griffin, who started off the game 0 for 5 from the field, seems to have gotten his shooting touch back. He leads the Clippers with 17 points. Chris Paul has 15 points and six assists.
The Clippers overall are struggling with their shots -- they've made only 39.4% from the field. The Thunder isn't doing much better at 41.7%.
Perry Jones leads the Thunder with 23 points on six-for-12 shooting.
The Thunder is outrebounding the Clippers, 35-24.
Clippers 46, Thunder 41 (halftime)
The Clippers trailed by as many as eight points in the first quarter but rallied to take the lead in the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
They pulled ahead of the Thunder for two reasons: injuries and the reigning sixth man of the year.
Jamal Crawford, who scored only one point in the first quarter, had nine points in the second. His three-pointer with 7 minutes 46 seconds left in the half gave the Clippers their first lead of the game, 34-32.
Now for the injuries. Russell Westbrook suffered what the team called a "right hand issue" in the second quarter and returned to the team's locker room. He's listed as questionable for the second half.
The Thunder are also without superstar forward Kevin Durant (foot), Reggie Jackson (wrist), Jeremy Lamb (heel), Anthony Morrow (knee), Mitch McGary (foot) and Grant Jerrett (ankle).
They now have eight available players if Westbrook doesn't return.
The Clippers, who were outrebounded in each of their eight preseason games, are trailing the Thunder on the boards, 23-18. The Thunder are also outshooting the Clippers, 41.7% to 38.1%.
Thunder 28, Clippes 22 (end of first quarter)
You wouldn't guess who is leading the Clippers in scoring in their season-opening game tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder (0-1) at Staples Center -- Matt Barnes.
Yeah, the same guy who went six for 44 (13.6%) from the field and one for 24 (4.2%) from beyond the three-point line in the preseason.
So far, Barnes has seven points on three-of-four shooting, including one for two from beyond the arc.
The Thunder opened the game with an 8-0 run, shooting five for five from the field. The Clippers didn't get on the scoreboard until Blake Griffin was fouled at the 9:30 mark and went on to make both of his free throws.
The Thunder is outshooting the Clippers, 55.6% to 33.3%. The Clippers' saving grace so far? The free-throw line, where they're seven for nine.
Blake Griffin is struggling from the field, missing all five of his shots.
Perry Jones leads the Thunder with nine points and Serge Ibaka has eight.
Kevin Durant, who is sidelined with a broken bone in his right foot, sat on the Thunder's bench next to the coaches, wearing a suit and a walking boot.
The fans were treated to L.A.-style entertainment even before tip-off. Fergie, wearing a tight mini-dress, sang the national anthem. Then Griffin took the microphone and thanked the crowd.
"We've been working hard, we can't wait for this season, we can't wait to share it with you guys," he said to the crowd.
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