Blake Griffin/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

– The Clippers did well to stay in this road game after Blake Griffin was ejected midway through the third quarter following a Flagrant 2 foul on the Bulls’ Taj Gibson. They trailed by 14 at the time and came all the way back to tie the game 66-66 on a Josh Smith 3-pointer with 7:18 left in the game. However, once the Bulls went back on front 68-66 on a basket by Jimmy Butler, they were never caught again. Griffin had 18 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

– The Clippers’ four guards – starters Chris Paul (5 of 16) and J.J. Redick (2 of 11) and reserves Jamal Crawford (1 of 5) and Austin Rivers (1 of 6) – shot a combined 9 of 38. The Clippers will lose on most nights this happens. As a team, they shot just 34.1 percent. Chicago wasn’t much better at just 35.6 percent.

– It seems Doc Rivers’ patience with Paul Pierce is finally growing thin. Pierce, who hasn’t been able to hit the broad side of a barn, played just five minutes and shot 0 of 2. On the season, the 38-year-old Pierce is shooting a miserable 29 percent from the floor – 23.8 from 3-point range. Over his 17-plus-year career, Pierce is shooting 44.6 percent overall, 37 percent from beyond the arc.

– DeAndre Jordan is shooting just 38.9 percent from the free-throw line. But after making 2 of 3 in this one, he has gone 11 of 21 from there over his past three games. That’s 52.3 percent. For Jordan, that’s something to write home about.

– By shooting 1 of 6, Austin Rivers has shot 15 of 43 over the past seven games. That’s a not-so-good percentage of 34.8. He’s shooting 41.6 percent on the season, just 22 percent from 3-point range. That percentage from long-distance is the lowest of anyone on the team in the regular rotation, not counting Jordan, who has not shot a 3-pointer.