NBA: Griffin's Monster Dunk Highlighted Clipper's Win over Thunder

Candidate for Dunk of the Year?

       Blake Griffin’s jaw-dropping one-handed jam over Kendrick Perkins sent Los Angeles Clippers fans into a frenzy, fired up his teammates, lit up the Twitterverse and burned the Oklahoma City Thunder.

      Griffin had 22 points to go with Chris Paul’s 26 points and 14 assists in a 112-100 victory Monday night that snapped the Thunder’s four-game winning streak in a matchup of division leaders. Griffin downplayed his monster move after the game, a sly smile only briefly breaking his serious expression.

       They shocked the Thunder with four consecutive 3-pointers in less than a minute to lead 64-46. The flurry by Williams (two), Butler (one) and Billups (one) stopped the Thunder’s 11-2 run that had drawn them within six points.

      The Thunder bumbled their way into the half, with Westbrook and Durant combining on three straight turnovers that led to the Clippers’ long-range fireworks. Williams and Butler had two steals in the run.

        Los Angeles shot 71 percent from long range in a half that also featured a series of huge dunks by Jordan, Griffin, Durant and Westbrook, although both teams missed their share of dunks, too.

        Daequan Cook was the only other Oklahoma City player in double figures with 12 points. Durant and Westbrook scored all but two of the Thunder’s 25 points in the third quarter, which the Clippers ended on a 3-pointer by Paul to lead 90-70. Durant and Westbrook began the fourth on the bench, although they both stood up when Cook hit his second 3-pointer of the period to get the Thunder to 95-81. Griffin then scored five in a row, capped by a two-handed jam that extended the Clippers’ lead to 100-81. The Thunder outscored Los Angeles 30-22 in the fourth, but never made a big run to get close.

        The Clippers made 13 3-pointers—just off their season high of 14 against Denver on Sunday. They made 10 3s in the first half, led by four from Butler, who connected from his favorite spot in the left corner. The Thunder’s only lead was four points to start the game.