(Reuters) – Blake Griffin delivered the dunk of the season on a rim-rattling slam over Kendrick Perkins to highlight the Los Angeles Clippers’ 112-100 home victory over the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
Griffin, the reigning Slam Dunk champion, took a pass from Chris Paul early in the third quarter and elevated above a defenseless Perkins before throwing the ball through the hoop viciously with his right hand.
“That was unbelievable, man,” Clippers guard Chauncey Billups told reporters of Griffin’s dunk. “We’re going to be seeing that one for years. I can’t wait to see that on TVmyself.”
The instant highlight gave the Clippers a 21-point lead and sent them on their way to snapping the Thunder’s four-game winning streak.
Paul orchestrated the victory with 26 points and 14 assists while Griffin and Caron Butler added 22 points each as Los Angeles (12-6) got their second win over a top Western Conference team in as many nights, having defeated Denver on Sunday.
Kevin Durant scored a game-high 36 points and had 13 rebounds while Russell Westbrook had 31 but the Thunder (16-4) fell behind by 11 after the first quarter and never recovered.
The Clippers led by seven late in the second before busting out four straight three-pointers to grab an 18-point halftime lead.
With Oklahoma City hanging around in the fourth, Paul scored eight straight in the final few minutes to bring home his team’s third consecutive win.
Though the victory was never truly in doubt, the Staples
Center crowd was still buzzing from Griffin’s big play, which was reminiscent of a memorable dunk he had over former New York player Timofey Mozgov last season.
“This time my fingers hit the rim. It was kind of similar,” Griffin said. “(Making a big dunk) always gives you that extra . whatever it is.”
(Reuters) – NBA results on Monday (home
team in CAPS)
PHILADELPHIA 74 Orlando 69
Chicago 98 WASHINGTON 88
MIAMI 109 New Orleans 95
San Antonio 83 MEMPHIS 73
MILWAUKEE 103 Detroit 82
UTAH 93 Portland 89
Dallas 122 PHOENIX 99
