Griffin keys win in return to L.A.

Scores 44 points at Staples Center

Blake Griffin kept his emotions to himself in his return to Staples Center in Los Angeles for the first time against his old team.

After scoring 44 points in the Detroit Pistons’ 109104 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers, he allowed himself a trip down memory lane.

“The best thing to be a part of is something that is bigger than yourself and that is what that was,” he said in the hallway outside the Pistons locker room. “I don’t look at what I did.”

Griffin was greeted with cheers in pregame introductions and received a standing ovation after a first-quarter video tribute from the team that drafted him first overall in 2009.

“There was a lot of hype coming into this game and I was looking forward to it, but I’m glad that it’s over,” he said. “The next time I come it won’t be as crazy.”

Timberwolves

Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and a careerhigh 27 rebounds, a monster game that included a late block on Pelicans star Anthony Davis to help Minnesota hold off the New Orleans Pelicans for a 110-106 victory Saturday night. Towns’ 27 rebounds are a season high in the NBA this season.

Mavericks

Guard J.J. Barea tore his right Achilles tendon in a game against Minnesota,

Game: Golden State Warriors (28-14) at Dallas Mavericks (20-22), American Airlines Center, Dallas.

When: 7 p.m.

TV: None locally.

The skinny: Mavericks rookie sensation Luka Doncic, 19, just missed becoming one of the two youngest players in NBA history to record a triple double Friday. He had 29 points, 12 assists and 8 rebounds in a 119-115 win vs. Minnesota. He is averaging 20 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5 assists.

a season-ending setback for a key Mavericks reserve. Barea was injured Friday night in the second half of the Mavericks’ 119115 victory in Minneapolis. The team said Saturday that Barea was weighing his options for surgery. Barea, 34, was averaging 10.9 points and a team-high 5.6 assists as a key part of the second unit for Dallas.

Thunder

Oklahoma City will retire Nick Collison’s No. 4 March 20. The crowd favorite’s number will be the first the franchise retires since moving from Seattle to Oklahoma City before the 2008-09 season. Collison announced his retirement in May 2018 after spending all 15 years of his career with the franchise.

Knicks

Kristaps Porzingis hasn’t played in a game since suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee Feb. 6, 2018, but New York plans to reevaluate his playing status in mid-February.