NBA: Blake Griffin got his 1st triple-double in 2OT win vs. Wizards

Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

One night after Staples Center hosted its first triple-overtime matchup in the arena’s 12-year history, the Clippers and Washington Wizardsapparently caught the bug.

Blake Griffin posted his first career triple-double and Eric Gordon scored 32 points to help the Clippers beat the Wizards 127-119 in double OT on Wednesday night.

“It means a lot, but the best part about it was getting the win,” Griffin said after finishing with 33 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in a career-high 51 1/2 minutes.

“It’s always great to keep your teammates involved and keep them going, but you also have to give credit to these guys for hitting shots. It was pretty draining. We just needed to tough it out.”

As a footnote to his first triple-double, Griffin also got his 55th double-double — tying the Clippers’ single-season record that Elton Brand set in 2001-02.

Mo Williams added 17 points and 10 assists after getting only two points through the first three quarters, and Randy Foye hit a clinching 3-pointer in the final minute.

“We showed some pretty good resiliency in the way we gutted it out and made some plays down the stretch,” coach Vinny Del Negro said. “Nothing is easy in this league, and we battled through it.”

Chris Kaman, starting in place of the injured DeAndre Jordan, had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who won their first overtime game this season in five tries.

But it shouldn’t have come to those extra 10 minutes. Los Angeles committed 25 turnovers, which the Wizards converted into 31 points.

“It was our carelessness,” said Gordon, who had all five of his turnovers in the first overtime period. “We probably just moved a little too fast and that gave us fewer opportunities to score.”

Wizards guard John Wall tied it at 102 with a running floater over the outstretched arm of the 7-foot Kaman with 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and Griffin missed a 3-point attempt at the other end with a second on the clock.

Gordon sent it into a second OT for the Clippers with a 3-pointer out of a timeout with 1.9 seconds left in the first overtime.

Wall led Washington with 32 points and 10 assists, and Jordan Crawford had 25 points on 10-for-28 shooting after missing his first seven shots. JaVale McGeeadded 22 points and 13 rebounds.

“It’s tough to lose this game. We did everything we had to do,” Wall said. “We fought hard, but down the stretch I missed a free throw that could have put us up by four and they just got the stops they needed. We didn’t close it out.”

Washington is 1-33 on the road — the only victory coming against league-worst Cleveland on Feb. 13. The Wizards have seven chances left to avoid tying the worst road record for a regulation season in NBA history, set by the 1-40 Sacramento Kings in 1990-91.

“They’re hurting in there, and they should be,” coach Flip Saunders said. “You get beat by 34 last night in Portland, you have a back-to-back, you get in late, and our guys still came out and competed. We played a lot of young guys, and our backcourt found a way to keep us in the game.”

In a matchup of the No. 1 overall picks from the 2009 and 2010 drafts — and the top two scorers this season among rookies — Griffin made 14 of 19 shots and Wall was 12-of-26. Wall’s only triple-double was on Nov. 10 against Houston.

The Wizards trailed by as many as 12 points after one quarter and didn’t take their first lead until Crawford’s 3-pointer put them ahead 69-68 with 3:01 left in the third.

by STATS LLC and The Associated Press