Paul-less Clippers blast Rockets

HOUSTON — Blake Griffin had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists for his second straight tripledouble to lift the Chris Paulless Los Angeles Clippers to a 117-101 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday night (Tuesday, Manila time) in Game One of the NBA Western Conference semifinals.

Houston scored five straight points to cut the lead to one with about 7 1/2 minutes left. Matt Barnes got the Clippers going after that, making two three-pointers in a 12-0 run that made it 10188 three minutes later, and the Clippers coasted to the victory.

Paul, who has a strained left hamstring, missed his first game of the season. But Jamal Crawford had 21 points and Barnes added 20 to help pick up the slack.

Dwight Howard led Houston with 22 points and James Harden added 20.

Houston was wellrested after having six days off after beating Dallas in five games. The Clippers showed no signs of fatigue despite having only about 48 hours to get ready for this series after eliminating defending champion San Antonio in Game Seven on Saturday night.

Griffin, who also had a triple-double on Saturday, has three this postseason.

Harden scored five straight points after the Clippers took their big lead, but Houston couldn't do much after that and fans started heading for the exits with about 2 minutes left.

The Clippers scored 37 points in the third quarter to lead by six at the start of the fourth. They were up by eight early in the fourth when Houston used a 6-2 spurt, with two dunks and a block by Howard, to cut the lead to 87-83.

Paul, who has averaged 22.7 points and 7.9 assists in the playoffs, was injured Saturday night but returned to hit the game-winning shot. Coach Doc Rivers said the All-Star point guard could have played if it were an elimination game, but that it wasn't worth the risk for Game One. (AP)