Blake Griffin posterizes Aron Baynes twice in Clippers-Spurs Game 1
Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin has said that he started dunking less in the regular season so that he could conserve his energy for the playoffs. In his first game of the 2015 playoffs, Griffin suggested that he has plenty of energy in reserve to dunk until the Clippers' season ends.
[Follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
With just over four minutes left in the third quarter of Sunday's Game 1 against the San Antonio Spurs, Chris Paul found Griffin with a perfect wraparound pass out of the pick-and-roll. Griffin took the pass near the paint and quickly elevated over big man Aron Baynes for a vicious posterization. Check it out here:
But Griffin wasn't going to settle for a single dunk. Roughly three minutes later, Griffin used a spin move to gain separation and dunked again on the late-coming Baynes:
These dunks weren't just important as highlights. They took place during a 20-7 run that helped the Clippers pull away on their way to a 107-92 win. Griffin was tremendous with 26 points (9-of-20 FG), 12 rebounds, six assists, three blocks, and three steals. This dunk on Baynes preceded the two above, but it was also part of his stellar play:
The Clippers star has expanded his game after gaining a reputation as the league's most thrilling dunker in his first few seasons, but it's nice to see that his aerial ability is still there. Griffin explained his approach after the game:
Blake Griffin: "I just want to be aggressive....now is not the time for self-preservation."
— J.A. Adande (@jadande) April 20, 2015
Griffin certainly looked like an aggressive player on Sunday. A heavy load of 43 minutes could affect his fatigue level in Wednesday's Game 2, but it looks like he'll be giving it all he has regardless.
- - - - - - -
Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
