LOS ANGELES_The Los Angeles Clippers were looking to get back right again while missing a key component in Blake Griffin and then seeing his replacement, Austin Rivers, have to leave the game for good in the fourth quarter.
Although Griffin missed the game against New Orleans on Saturday night because of a sore right knee, the Clippers defeated the Pelicans, 133-105, at Staples Center.
The Clippers had entered the game having lost five of their last seven games, the 17-point loss to Golden State here Wednesday night perhaps stinging the most.
But with Griffin, who is supposed to play Monday night against Portland, watching from the bench, the Clippers didn't receive much resistance from a Pelicans team missing do-everything forward Anthony Davis (rest).
Rivers, who took over for Griffin, had 18 points before he departed.
Rivers had been elbowed in the chin by Terrence Jones on a drive to the basket by the Pelicans forward, which knocked Rivers down onto the court late in the third quarter.
While on his back, Rivers had to be attended to and helped to the bench. He sat on the bench and could be seen shaking his head. Rivers returned to play in the fourth, but 46 seconds into the quarter, Rivers had to be helped into the locker room by his teammates, his head down.
He didn't return and the Clippers said he was being evaluated, but not for what.
He was having a good night, too, going making six of nine shots, four of six from three-point range.
It took some time for the Clippers to get some separation from the Pelicans.
But the Clippers turned a 61-55 halftime lead into a 98-80 lead at the end of the third after Chris Paul found Marreese Speights for a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to end the quarter.
Paul did his thing for the Clippers, scoring 20 points and handing out 20 assists with no turnovers. He became the second player San Diego/LA Clippers history to have 20-plus points and 20-plus assists in a single game since Norm Nixon, who did it twice.
Besides the Griffin injury, Clippers Coach Doc Rivers had to worry about the status of Austin Rivers.
Doc Rivers said before the game that Griffin's injury wasn't serious.
"It's not the knee that was injured, it's the other knee and it's just nothing big," said Rivers, referring to the partially torn left quadriceps muscle Griffin suffered last season. "He'll play Monday."
It was the second game Griffin has missed this season. The other was because of the biometrics the Clippers have employed this season to give their players more rest.
"We're just not going to take any chances with anyone," said Rivers, regarding Griffin.
"And it's not that big of a deal. We just feel like it's a long season. We did that last year really to be honest. But now we have even more data to it and we're doing it without it."
