Clippers Vs. Magic: Blake Griffin Can’t Crawl From Under Dwight Howard’s Shadow In Big Orlando Win

Blake Griffin struggled against the once-vaunted Orlando Magic defense, scoring just 10 points and dropping just one assist to go with 12 rebounds as his L.A. Clippers fell 101-85 on the road. Dwight Howard, himself a freakish mix of size and athleticism, tore down the Clippers to the tune of 22 points and 20 rebounds.

The game was contested early in the fourth quarter, with the teams tied at 70 before Orlando went on a 12-0 rampage. Gilbert Arenas led the charge, hitting a three-pointer and handing out three assists (including an alley-oop to Howard) during the spurt. The Clippers never recovered, and the Magic stretched out the margin late.

Even when he can't get anything going, Griffin still pulls out something spectacular. Witness how he lulls Ryan Anderson (what up, El Dorado Hills?) into a false sense of security by slowly drifting away from the post as Baron Davis dribbles himself into oblivion. Without so much as a twitch, Blake spins back to receive the alley-oop from Davis. That has to be ESP or something.

Ike Diogu scored eight points for the Clippers in the fourth quarter. He is L.A.'s third best per-minute scorer, behind Eric Gordon and Griffin. He's been doing this his entire career, but he can't stick anywhere. Can his defense be that bad? (Turns out: yes! He's pretty atrocious on defense.)