OKLAHOMA CITY — The “prodigal son” returned home, but not to the party he had hope for.
Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin did all he could, but it wasn’t enough as L.A. fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 111-88, on Tuesday night.
Griffin was greeted by a thunderous applause when he was announced during the starting lineups, and that seemed to energize him as he scored 12 of the Clipper’s 23 first quarter points — eight of those in the first four minutes of action.
The former Sooner standout sat most of the second quarter in foul trouble. Griffin's presence was missed as the Thunder outscored the Clippers in the second by 16.
“We gave up too many baskets in the second quarter,” Griffin said. “We have to do a better job defensively, and offensively take better care of the ball.”
Griffin did show up in the second half, scoring eight points and grabbing five rebounds in the third quarter alone. In the fourth, he scored another five points to finish the game with 28 points, 11 boards and eight assists.
This was the perfect game for any Sooner-born Thunder fan.
Griffin, who was the only NBA player to compete on all three days of All-Star Weekend — Rookie Challenge on Friday, Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday and the All-Star Game on Sunday — said he was somewhat tired from the weekend, but that was not an excuse for the loss.
Blake will continue his Rookie of the Year campaign this season, and he'll be back in OKC on April 6.
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