Chris Paul returned to the Staples Center to play the Clippers for the first time since he was traded to the Houston Rockets over the summer, and it quickly became apparent that there was no love lost between CP3 and his former Lob City co-star Blake Griffin.
Griffin and Paul got into a heated exchange late in the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ blowout win, and it led to a double technical between Griffin and Mike D’Antoni:
Griffin was later ejected after getting into another exchange with Trevor Ariza, who was jawing with both Austin Rivers and Patrick Beverley on the sidelines:
Griffin and Paul played together for six seasons in Los Angeles, dragging a floundering Clippers franchise to high-flying prominence. But the team never made it past the second round of the playoffs in the West, and Paul orchestrated a trade that sent him to Houston for Lou Williams, Beverley, and others over the summer.
Reports then surfaced that Griffin and Paul did not have the best relationship, with Clippers head coach Doc Rivers saying on an ESPN True Hoop podcast that it was never a championship relationship and “just didn’t work.”
Another tidbit of useful information? These two teams play two more regular-season games. And if those are as heated as Monday night’s, you might want to mark them on your calendar.
Chris Paul calls Blake Griffin a "bitch" for complaining to ref pic.twitter.com/gICeXJOLji
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) January 16, 2018