Clippers, Warriors renew rivalry

The Clippers face off tonight against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, the teams’ first meeting since Golden State’s 105-103 win on Christmas Day. In that game, the Clippers believed Blake Griffin was wrongly ejected after a tussle with Andrew Bogut.
While Doc Rivers was admittedly upset by the defeat, he also wanted to impart to his players that just like playing without injured players, the show must go on.
“I thought we played great and we didn’t win,” Rivers said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to win it and sustaining through the game. They’re a great team, they’re going to make some runs because they have offensive firepower.
“Composure in any big game, not just in that game, in any game, is important. I actually thought we held our composure and got penalized. But it doesn’t matter and I told our guys after that game: Listen, we wanted Blake to be in that game and he got thrown out.
“We still have to find a way to win the game. That’s the mentality that we have to get no matter who’s on the floor. I was angry more at we lost the game to them than we lost Blake. What if he fouled out, are we going to get mad at that, you know what I mean? That was a very winnable game.”