Blake Griffin struggles in Clippers’ win over Wizards, but he’s just stoked to be back out there

Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin, center, tries to pass the ball as Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal, left, and forward Jared Dudley defend during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, April 3, 2016, in Los Angeles. The Clippers won 114-109. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Blake Griffin of the Clippers looks to pass the ball as Bradley Beal, left, and Jared Dudley defend/AP photo by Mark J. Terrill

 

Blake Griffin didn’t play all that well Sunday in his first game back after missing the previous 45 because of two injuries, and a four-game suspension for fracturing his right hand on the face of team assistant equipment manager Matias Testi in January.

Griffin scored just six points on 2 of 7 shooting, grabbed five rebounds and doled out four assists in 24 1/2 minutes of the Clippers’ 114-109 victory over the visiting Washington Wizards.

Griffin knows he didn’t have one of his typical games, which would have been way too much to ask. He was just thrilled to be back after not having played since Christmas.

“It was just nice to be back out there,” Griffin said. “That’s really the main takeaway. I had a blast being out there. Rhythm was pretty bad, my conditioning was a little bit better than I thought it was going to be. But not great by any means.”

Griffin sustained a partially torn left quad tendon on Christmas against the Lakers and had not played since then. The tendon is still torn, but it’s good enough to play, even if there’s some pain involved.

He was asked how it felt post-game.

“I feel good right now,” he said. “But the key is tomorrow, the key is the next few days. That’s my biggest concern.”