Blake Griffin should have been more careful. Los Angeles needs him on Wednesday night against the Blazers, but a blow of the whistle has changed all that. Griffin picked up his 16th technical foul against the Nuggets on Tuesday, earning him an automatic suspension from the league.
Blake Griffin gets 16th technical foul, could miss game vs. Portland
The Los Angeles Clippers star was hit with his 16th tech on Tuesday night, triggering an automatic one-game suspension.
Kelvin Kuo-US PRESSWIRE
h/t to @HPBasketball for the original video.
With less than four minutes left in the second quarter, Griffin was battling with Timofey Mozgov on the low block. Mozgov spun baseline and appeared to get Griffin on the back of the head with his left elbow.
Referees blew the play dead, calling an offensive foul on Mozgov. Before the play was over, Griffin chased after Mozgov and swiped at his shot attempt, clobbering him in the face after making contact with the ball.
Griffin was immediately assessed a technical foul on the play, his 16th of the season. That triggers a one-game suspension from the NBA if the call is not rescinded.
Los Angeles is battling the Oklahoma City Thunder for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference. A win against Denver on Tuesday and in Portland on Wednesday night would give L.A. the opportunity to challenge for the second spot. Oklahoma City still has to lose to Detroit at home on Wednesday for that to happen.
If the Clippers can grab the No. 2 spot in the West, that would give them home court advantage through at least the second round of the playoffs.
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