HOUSTON -- Blake Griffin had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists for his second straight triple-double to lift the Chris Paul-less Los Angeles Clippers to a 117-101 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Houston scored five straight points to cut the lead to one with about 7 1/2 minutes left. Matt Barnes got the Clippers going after that, making two 3-pointers in a 12-0 run that made it 101-88 3 minutes later, and the Clippers coasted to the victory.
Paul, who has a strained left hamstring, missed his first game of the season. But Jamal Crawford had 21 points and Barnes added 20 to help pick up the slack.
Dwight Howard led Houston with 22 points and James Harden added 20 (see full recap).
Bulls hold off Cavs in Game 1
CLEVELAND -- Derrick Rose scored 25 points and Pau Gasol added 21, leading the Chicago Bulls to a 99-92 victory over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night.
Looking like the MVP he was before being slowed by knee injuries, Rose helped the Bulls swipe home-court advantage from the Cavs, who were missing starters Kevin Love and J.R. Smith.
Jimmy Butler added 20 points and banked in a contested jumper with 30 seconds left as the Bulls closed it out.
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Kyrie Irving scored 30 points and LeBron James added 19 and 15 rebounds for Cleveland, playing its first game since Love -- one of the Cavs' Big 3 -- was lost for the remainder of the postseason with a shoulder injury.
Game 2 is Wednesday night.
The Cavs only trailed by four points in the final minutes, but they forced several 3-point attempts and James missed a tough layup with 51 seconds left (see full recap).