SALT LAKE CITY _ Blake Griffin just can't seem to escape injury issues in the playoffs, this time going down with a bruised right big toe during the Clippers' stirring 111-106 win over the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of the Western Conference playoffs Friday night.
But the Clippers still had Chris Paul and he still had the rest of his teammates who refused to give in to a difficult situation with no Griffin around to help the cause.
Paul had 13 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter to help the Clippers take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. With Game 4 here Sunday night, the Clippers aren't sure if Griffin will be available.
"Blake, I think he's doing a CAT scan," Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said. "He'll be re-evaluated tonight and we should have more news tomorrow. So we don't know (how he is doing) is the answer."
Griffin was injured in the first half of the game and didn't return after scoring 11 points and grabbing six rebounds.
The Clippers said X-rays for a broken toe were negative and that Griffin was going to be re-evaluated with more testing later Friday night.
Griffin appeared to injure his toe after he scored on a basket over Rodney Hood with three minutes, 53 seconds left in the second quarter and the Clippers down 47-43. Griffin took a big step on the fast break to get around Hood to score the layup. He appeared to come down hard on his foot and limped back on defense.
The Clippers called a time out with 3:18 left in the second to allow Griffin to come to the bench.
Griffin then pounded the seat during the time out before he walked away with Jasen Powell, the team's director of medical services/head athletic services.
Griffin was five-for-nine from the field before leaving the game.
During a first-round playoff series in 2016 against the Portland Trail Blazers, Griffin re-injured his left quadriceps tendon in Game 4 and didn't play again.
Griffin missed 18 games during the regular season after having right knee surgery.
Marreese Speights, who had eight points, started in the second half for the injured Griffin.
But it was Paul who took over, making sure his teammates stayed the course without Griffin.
"He's just good, No. 1. He trusts the actions that we're running, No. 2," Rivers said about Paul. "And he has an amazing will. He really does. He's just a tough guy. He's stubborn in a very positive way. All the great ones have that in them."'
The great play by Paul helped the Clippers reclaim the home-court advantage.
They had lost it by losing Game 1 at Staples Center.
But with DeAndre Jordan getting 17 points and 13 rebounds and Luc Mbah a Moute getting a playoff career-high 15 points, the Clippers took back control of the series.
"You just hang in there," Rivers said. "You hang in there long enough until you can steal one. And that's what we did."
Utah Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward had a playoff career-high 40 points, George Hill had 26 and Joe Johnson 15.
But the Clippers held the Jazz to 47.1 percent shooting in the fourth quarter to get the win.
After it was over, the Clippers smiled and ran off the court happy.
"Sometimes you want it so much, like I thought we were getting in our way, all of us," Rivers said. "I thought in the second half, even though Blake wasn't there, we just kept playing. We just kept hanging in there. "
