Coming off a grueling series against the defending champs, the Los Angeles Clippers erased any notion that they don't have enough left to keep up with the Houston Rockets - even without Chris Paul.
Instead, it's the Rockets who hope to find their legs after a sluggish effort cost them home-court advantage.
The Clippers could be missing their floor leader for the second straight game as they try to take the first two of a second-round series for the first time in team history Wednesday night in Houston.
Two days after making the winning shot on basically one leg in Game 7 against San Antonio, Paul was unable to play Monday because of his strained left hamstring. Coach Doc Rivers said the star point guard could have played if it were an elimination game, but that it wasn't worth the risk in the series opener.
Without Paul, Los Angeles received a balanced attack with six players scoring in double figures in the 117-101 win. Blake Griffin was too much for the Rockets with 26 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists to notch his second straight triple-double.
"He's incredible," forward Matt Barnes said of Griffin, averaging 26.5 points, 13.3 boards and 9.0 assists in the last four games. "He gets in the middle of the field and kind of just picks people apart like Tom Brady."
Jamal Crawford contributed 21 points off the bench, Barnes added 20 and J.J. Redick and Austin Rivers - filling in as the starting point guard - had 17 apiece. That quartet combined to hit all 13 of the Clippers' 3-pointers, including an NBA playoff-record 11 in the second half.
Even though they had every reason to be tired, the Clippers outscored Houston - coming off a five-day break - by a 71-51 margin in the final 24 minutes.
"I've always felt we've had the talent," Redick told the team's official website. "That mental toughness has been questioned and our resolve has been questioned and at times rightfully so, but we're on the right track right now."
The Clippers have won their last three road playoff games after never previously winning two straight in their 44-year history, and now they could accomplish something else the franchise has never done - take a 2-0 series lead in a round other than the first. They've never won a second-round series.
Rivers expects Paul to play at some point in this series, but the eight-time All-Star is again questionable for Game 2.
"We don't mention injuries," said Rivers, whose club did commit a season-high 23 turnovers without Paul. "We don't talk about them and we just tell our guys, 'You execute, step into the role. You execute and you play.'"
Houston, playing in its first conference semifinal since 2009, is also looking to clean things up after the Clippers scored 34 points off its 24 turnovers. The Rockets were also outrebounded 42-35.
"I don't think we took them lightly (without Paul)," MVP runner-up James Harden said. "We've got to do a better job of just playing harder. It felt like we were in mud for four quarters. We've got to be better in Game 2 and I know we will."
Harden finished with 20 points - 7.4 below his regular-season average - and 12 assists but committed nine turnovers in the team's first defeat in four home playoff games. Dwight Howard had a team-high 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.
Trevor Ariza was a bright spot with 17 points, but Josh Smith hopes to regroup after he scored nine while missing nine of 12 shots. Smith has averaged 7.3 points on 7-of-28 shooting in his last three games versus Los Angeles.
"We just have to do a better job of focusing on our game plan and go out there and execute," Harden said. "It's pretty simple - we're not going to overcomplicate things."
