Five things to take from Clippers’ 91-80 loss to Toronto Raptors

Doc Rivers is bugged about a call made during Sunday’s 91-80 loss to Toronto at Staples Center/Staff photo by Steve McCrank

 

– As good as Blake Griffin has been, he was bound to have a poor game and it came in this one. Early foul trouble limited him to just under 30 minutes and he took just 10 shots, making four and finishing with nine points. He grabbed six rebounds and doled out four assists, but also had six turnovers. Definitely, it was not his night. Griffin is averaging 24.8 points.

– Speaking of turnovers, the Clippers had 19 of them. That’s way too many. Chris Paul had three as the starters had 14 of the 19. The Raptors had 14 total.

– One interesting statistic came in the shooting percentages. The Clippers shot 39.2 percent, the Raptors just 37.2. The game was won at the free-throw line, where Toronto made an incredible 29 of 31 (93.5 percent) with the Clippers making 14 of 20 (75 percent).

DeAndre Jordan had a nice game, with 13 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks. But he was the only starter who played up to par. Paul and J.J. Redick scored 13 and 17 points, respectively, but both shot just 5 of 13.

– It didn’t help that Jamal Crawford played 29 minutes off the bench, yet made just 1 of 9 from the field – he was 0 of 6 from 3-point range. Crawford is not shooting just 28.3 percent from beyond the arc. He has a career percentage of 34.9.

BONUS TAKE – It was Josh Smith who was involved in a shouting match with an unspecified assistant coach in the locker room after the game. Perhaps anger is what this team needs to start playing well.