Clips keep it close in the first half while they struggled with turnovers, then pull away in the second; scoring 71. Griffin with his second straight playoff triple-double.

 

I didn't give the Paul-less Clippers much of a shot, but big contributions from Crawford, Rivers, Redick and Barnes, while Jordan went an almost-respectable 6-11 from the line on the way to a 10 point, 13 rebound, 5 assist and 4 block stat line.

Definitely did not see this coming without CP3 playing.

Man, Clippers and Bulls both steal game one on the road. Gonna be some exciting series this round.

That is two straight games where the Clippers have been lights out from behind the three point line. Color me shocked at the Clippers' turnaround. It all happened with the Blake Griffin illness which I feel brought the group together. Not a better coach at making his team believe than Doc Rivers. Good chance he finally gets Chris Paul beyond the second round of the playoffs.

Houston is too talented to get crushed by a Paul-less Clipped squad. This loss will haunt, them.