Blake Griffin plays entire fourth quarter in Clippers' win over Jazz

Published Dec. 30, 2014 1:43 a.m. ET

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Blake Griffin had to check his schedule the other day just to see when the last time the Clippers had a full, honest-to-goodness practice. It was Dec. 5, which was 24 days ago.

You know it's been a long time when ...

The Clippers have played a frenzy of games this month, 16 games in 29 days,  but a break - and a real practice - is coming at the end of the week.

There was little break for Griffin on Monday as he played 41 minutes and the entire fourth quarter of the Clippers' nailbiting 101-97 victory over the Jazz. Griffin had 24 points, 6 rebounds, seven assists, two steals, six turnovers and three blocked shots at Staples Center.

Asked how he held up afterward, Griffin said: "I'm all right. The true test is (Tuesday morning), waking up. We're getting through this stretch of games. We have two days off after our next one. You can see a little bit of light at the end of this stretch."

The Clippers (21-11) have played three sets of back-to-back games this month. They lost to the Raptors on Saturday after Toronto had four days between games. And in another quirky function of the schedule, J.R. Smith was sitting courtside for the Clippers' game on Monday. He and the Knicks had just played in Portland on Sunday and have two days off before Wednesday's game against the Clippers at Staples Center.

Smith shared a photo on Instagram of his feet chilling on the Staples Center court with the hashtag #watchingmybro.

The Clippers have said no excuses about the schedule, but knowing the Knicks were in town for Wednesday's game - and perhaps seeing Smith courtside - gave Rivers a good chuckle.  

And Griffin's fourth quarter without a rest was another quirk in the usual gameplan.

"... Don't love it. Don't like anybody playing 12 minutes in a row," Doc Rivers said. "... It was great. I thought where it helped was that the second unit had a scorer  with them beside Jamal (Crawford). They had Blake out there too and Spencer spreading the floor. I thought that was a good combination for our second unit."

Griffin seemed unaffected, scoring 12 of his 24 points in the final quarter and making impactful shots down the stretch.

"He said something about coming out early," Griffin said of the final quarter. "(I) came out early in the first. Went back in a little earlier. I think (Rivers is) just trying to find something to get guys a little more rest or tweak whatever. I was OK. We've just got to figure it out."

In a tight game and given the bench's struggles and Spencer Hawes just back from injury for the first time in nine games, that's the way it worked out Monday.

Griffin responded well.

"He was huge," Chris Paul said. "He made some big shots, some big rebounds. He had some tough calls go against him, and I think that shows the growth in our team and also in Blake that he didn't let it bother him."

For all of the Clippers woes - they had lost three of four games and six of 10 before Monday's win - there has been much good.

Through 32 games, the Clippers are 21-11, which was the same record they had last year at this point in the season. Griffin said he feels like the Clippers were playing better at this point one season ago.

The Clippers have won 12 consecutive games against the Jazz, which is the franchise's longest win streak against an opponent.

And the Clippers tied a season-high with 12 blocks. Of course, they also got outscored in the paint, 44-18.

The Clippers-Knicks game is an afternoon affair on New Year's Eve, and the 5-win Knicks already have lost 28 games and won just twice on the road. So there's that.

And then there will be a real practice, considering it's been so long.

"It seems like we're playing all the time," Griffin said. "I've been through crazy stretches like this before, and I know everybody else has. I don't like giving it that much attention to be honest. You just have to keep fighting through it and finding that energy from somewhere."

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