Los Angeles, January 13: Blake Griffin was out for revenge on Saturday (January 12) and he got it as the Detroit Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 109-104.
The Pistons star returned to Los Angeles to take on his old team, the Clippers, and he scored 44 points on 13-of-23 shooting.
Griffin has continued to develop his skill set since entering the league in 2009. He appeared to avoid shaking the hand of Clippers owner Steve Balmer before the matchup, but claims he was simply locked into his pregame routine.
Danilo Gallinari led the way for the Clippers, scoring 23 points. Lou Williams scored 22, while Montrezl Harrell contributed 21 to round out the scoring for Los Angeles.
The 24-18 Clippers got off to a hot start this season, but have dropped to sixth place in the Western Conference. The 18-23 Pistons are just outside the playoff picture, sitting ninth in the Eastern Conference.
Towns leads the Timberwolves
Karl-Anthony Towns put together a monster stat line of 27 points and 27 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the New Orleans Pelicans 110-106.
Aaron Gordon recorded 28 points and 12 rebounds to help the Orlando Magic stun the Boston Celtics 105-103.
Kelly Oubre Jr. dropped 26 points and 11 rebounds on the first-place Denver Nuggets to give the Phoenix Suns a 102-93 win.
Brown's shooting leaves a lot to be desired
Bruce Brown scored two points on 0-of-seven shooting for the Pistons.
Iman Shumpert scored five points on two-of-nine shooting as the Sacramento Kings took down the Charlotte Hornets 104-97.
Carter says no!
Wendell Carter Jr. stuffed Royce O'Neale at the rim in the Chicago Bulls' 110-102 loss against the Utah Jazz.
WENDELL CARTER JR. DENIAL! 💪
— NBA (@NBA) 13 January 2019
Halftime on NBALP:#BullsNation 53#TeamIsEverything 51
💻📱: https://t.co/iPjKqpSDr5 pic.twitter.com/CVZtx2mtlp
Russell Westbrook faked a behind-the-back pass to distract Patty Mills and finish a fast-break layup as the Oklahoma City Thunder topped the San Antonio Spurs 122-112.
Russ reaches into his bag of tricks on the break! #ThunderUp @NBATV pic.twitter.com/fipCLuycKj
— NBA (@NBA) 13 January 2019
Saturday's results
Detroit Pistons 109-104 Los Angeles Clippers
Miami Heat 112-108 Memphis Grizzlies
Orlando Magic 105-103 Boston Celtics
Minnesota Timberwolves 110-106 New Orleans Pelicans
Oklahoma City Thunder 122-112 San Antonio Spurs
Phoenix Suns 102-93 Denver Nuggets
Utah Jazz 110-102 Chicago Bulls
Sacramento Kings 104-97 Charlotte Hornets
Warriors at Mavericks
The Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks are 1-1 against each other this season. Sunday's matchup will be the final regular-season meeting between these two teams. Steve Kerr praised Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic's play as of late, and he will have to perform at a high level to top the reigning NBA champions.