NBA Playoffs Roundup

Griffin’s play lifts Clippers over Rockets 117-101
HOUSTON (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers knew no one player could make up for Chris Paul’s absence.
So they all chipped in to fill the void.
Blake Griffin had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists for his second straight triple-double to lead six double-digit scorers and lift the Clippers to a 117-101 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
“Without Chris, everybody has to step up,” Griffin said. “But it’s not one person’s job, it’s everybody’s job. And if you look at the stat sheet tonight, it was everybody.”
Houston scored five straight points to cut the lead to one with about 7 1/2 minutes left. Matt Barnes got the Clippers going after that, making two 3-pointers in a 12-0 run that made it 101-88 3 minutes later, and the Clippers coasted to the victory.
Barnes raved about Griffin’s work as a facilitator.
“He’s incredible. He gets in the middle of the field and kind of just picks people apart like Tom Brady,” Barnes said. “That’s like a grown man triple-double right there.”
Paul, who has a strained left hamstring, missed his first game of the season. But Jamal Crawford had 21 points and Barnes added 20 to help pick up the slack.
Dwight Howard led Houston with 22 points and James Harden added 20, but had nine of the team’s 23 turnovers.
Houston was well-rested after having six days off after beating Dallas in five games. The Clippers showed no signs of fatigue despite having only about 48 hours to get ready for this series after eliminating defending champion San Antonio in Game 7 on Saturday night.
Griffin, who also had a triple-double on Saturday, has three this postseason.
“Blake was just sensational,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “I got on him because ... he stopped looking to score and I told him at one point: ‘We need you to do everything and he did it.’”
Harden scored five straight points after the Clippers took their big lead, but Houston couldn’t do much after that and fans started heading for the exits with about 2 minutes left.
The Clippers scored 37 points in the third quarter to lead by six at the start of the fourth. They were up by eight early in the fourth when Houston used a 6-2 spurt, with two dunks and a block by Howard, to cut the lead to 87-83.
Paul, the team’s undisputed leader, clad in an olive green blazer, stood up often during the game, barking pointers to his teammates. He walked with a noticeable limp and during timeouts he would call different players over, sharing information with them as if he were an extra coach.
Griffin took on the leadership role on the court with Paul sitting on the sideline.
Five quick points by Harden put Houston up by six with about 10 minutes left in the third quarter. But Los Angeles scored the next six points to tie it at 57-all.
A basket by J.J. Redick gave the Clippers their first lead since early in the game, 66-65. Jason Terry put Houston back on top with a 3-pointer, but the Clippers scored the next seven points to take a 73-68 lead with 31/2 minutes left in the third quarter.
The Clippers were up by six with 2 minutes left in the period when Houston scored five quick points, capped by a dunk from Corey Brewer, to get within 78-77.
Los Angeles scored the last five points of the quarter, powered by a 3-pointer by Crawford, to lead 83-77 entering the fourth.
PAUL’S HEALTH
Paul, who has averaged 22.7 points and 7.9 assists in the playoffs, was injured Saturday night but returned to hit the game-winning shot.
Rivers expects him to be able to play in this series, but isn’t sure if he’ll be ready for Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Rose, Gasol pace Bulls to 99-92 win over Cavaliers
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Chicago Bulls came in oozing with confidence, unafraid of LeBron James and convinced they could keep their playoff momentum rolling.
Looking like the league MVP he was before being slowed by knee injuries, Rose scored 25 points, Pau Gasol added 21 and the Bulls led from the start in a 99-92 victory over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night.
Rose, who sustained a shoulder stinger in the closing minute, helped the Bulls swipe home-court advantage from the Cavs. Cleveland was missing starters Kevin Love and J.R. Smith, but its bigger issue was not stopping Rose or his pick-and-roll plays with Gasol.
After all he’s been through — surgeries, hours of rehab, uncertainty about his future — Rose, who has missed over 180 games the past four seasons, is savoring every moment back in the postseason.
“I just appreciate everything,” he said, “getting back on the floor, my fans, every aspect of basketball. It’s allowed me to change my life and my family’s life. I owe so much to this sport. I’m just trying to roll with it.”
Jimmy Butler added 20 points and banked in a contested jumper with 30 seconds left as the Bulls closed it out, silencing a roaring Cleveland crowd already worried about Game 2 on Wednesday night.
Kyrie Irving scored 30 points and James added 19 and 15 rebounds for Cleveland, playing its first game since Love — one of the Cavs’ Big 3 — was lost for the remainder of the postseason with a shoulder injury.
“We all just have to play better,” said James, who had nine assists but six turnovers. “I wasn’t that good tonight.”
The Cavs only trailed by four points in the final minutes, but they forced several 3-point attempts and James had two costly turnovers and missed a tough layup in the final 3 minutes.
Finally fully healed after dealing with injuries all season, the Bulls are peaking at the perfect time. Coming off a 54-point win over Milwaukee to wrap up its opening-round series, Chicago jumped to an early lead, withstood a Cleveland comeback and buckled down on defense in the closing minutes to hand Cleveland just its second loss in 24 home games.
Rose ran the show the way he used to, and Gasol, the steady 34-year-old Spaniard, made the Cavs pay for leaving him open by knocking down one mid-range jumper after another.
Rose banged shoulders with Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson and felt his arm go numb. He said the feeling came back a few minutes later, and he’s not concerned about it lingering.
The Cavs struggled from the start to find any offensive rhythm. Without Love to space the floor, Chicago had an easier time defending James. And without Smith, suspended two games for striking Boston’s Jae Crowder in the face, the Cavs didn’t have one of their best perimeter shooters.
Iman Shumpert started for Smith and made four 3-pointers and scored 22, but Blatt spent the night unsuccessfully searching for the right combinations.
After the Cavs battled back from a 16-point deficit to tie it 51-all, the Bulls went on a 15-0 run highlighted by Rose’s jumper that was a snapshot of him as league MVP in 2011.
With James guarding him, Rose created some space with a dribble and hit a step-back, off-balance 3 to give Chicago a 61-53 lead. The Bulls weren’t done as Butler scored on a dunk, Gasol converted a three-point play and then knocked down another short jumper.
It was a nice start for the Bulls, but as Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau was quick to point out, only that.
“You can’t get wrapped up in it,” he said. “We’re going to have to play a lot better in the next game.”
NO HELP
Blatt started Mike Miller at forward, but the 15-year veteran struggled defensively and scored just three points in 16 minutes. Shawn Marion and James Jones didn’t score in limited time.
LEBRON’S BUSY NIGHT
James was forced to do a lot on defense as Blatt switched him on Rose, Gasol, Joakim Noah and others.
“I think I guarded every guy they brought into the game,” he said.
NOAH, NO POINTS
Noah didn’t score in 29 minutes, but he had nine rebounds and drew boos from Cleveland’s crowd every time he touched the ball.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Instead of sitting on the bench, Rose rode a stationary bike in the hallway leading to Chicago’s locker room to stay loose when he wasn’t in the game. ... Thibodeau and James have crossed paths many times in the postseason, first when he was an assistant with Boston and now in Chicago. “It seems like we’ve been around each other in playoff games a lot,” Thibodeau said. “I have great respect for him.”
Cavaliers: James (1,054) moved past Scott Pippen (1,048) on the career postseason assist list. The only “true” front-line player ahead of James is Larry Bird (1,062), who is fourth. Magic Johnson (2,346) is No. 1.