LOS ANGELES -- Chris Paul and Blake Griffin provided the 1-2 punch that floored the defending champions San Antonio Spurs, 107-92, in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinals on Sunday night at Staples Center.
CP3 finished with 32 points and 6 assists while Griffin had 26 and 12 boards to power the third-seeded Clips to a rousing start to their post-season campaign. Both stars combined to shoot 22-of-40 field goals.
Game 2 best of-7 series is Wednesday night (Thursday AM in Manila) also at the Staples Center.
Leading only by six -- 49-43 -- after two quarter, the Clippers surged with a 30-21 third quarter to open a 15-point bubble entering the final 12 minutes. The Spurs inched to within 90-81 with 7:35 to go but the Clips maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
Jamal Crawford pitched in 17 from the bench, helping the Clips shoot 51.3 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from 3-point range.
Kawhi Leonard had 18 points for sixth-ranked San Antonio while Tim Duncan had 11 points and 11 boards. Tony Parker missed 7 of 11 shots to finish with just 10 points. Manu Ginobili also struggled (3-for-10 from the field) with just 10 points.
Photo: Blake Griffin (L) found his shot foiled by Tim Duncan, but the L.A. Clippers would not be denied, beating the San Antonio Spurs, 107-92 at Staples Center.
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