LOS ANGELES—Following a 45-point pre-season blowout at the hands of the new-look Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers regained their confidence in a 98-104 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, October 4.
Coach Doc Rivers shook things up, opting to go small with a lineup consisting of three guards in Chris Paul, Raymond Felton, and Austin Rivers alongside the hulking duo of Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan. Griffin looked excellent coming off of a season marred with injury, leading all scorers with 24-points and knocking down two 3-pointers. The all-star forward explained how much he expects to shoot threes this year with his improved range. “It’s not one of those things I want to fall in love with. I still think you have to be effective in a lot of other areas as a four-man. It’s not something I’m going to pick and pop to all the time, but if it’s there, it’s something I work on, but like I said, I don’t expect to be shooting a lot of threes,” said Griffin.
The Clippers looked dominant from tip-off, with Paul finding Jordan for a vicious alley-hoop on their first possession. The Raptors offense appeared stagnant, and the team failed to find a rhythm until all-star guard and former USC standout DeMar Derozan, connected on 6-6 shots for 15 points in the second quarter, cutting the Los Angeles lead to 9 points at halftime.
With a 68-85 lead over the Raptors, the Clippers pulled their starters from the game at the start of the final period. Toronto took advantage of this, using their bench to pull within 2-points behind Canadian rookie Brady Heslip’s 13 fourth quarter points. With an upset brewing, Felton sealed the game on a turnaround jump-shot and a pair of free-throws.The Clippers will face the Utah Jazz in their next pre-season game on Monday, October 10.
