The two potentially best teams in the Western conference this year met in Los Angeles on Wednesday for an anticipated and very telling matchup. It was the Clippers who walked away with the win, beating the Thunder 111-103. This is the first time the Clippers have beaten the Oklahoma Thunder in their last several matchups.

Close Matchups

Blake Griffin led the Clippers team with 22 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, and steals. He was a handyman, doing whatever needed to be done to get the win. Chris Paul scored 14 points, and an incredible 16 assists. This game, Paul became the first Clippers player ever to have at least 10 points and 10 assists in the first nine games of a season. Jamal Crawford played a great game off the bench, putting up an additional 20 points for the Clippers.

For Oklahoma, star Kevin Durant scored 33 points, with 6 rebounds and 10 assists. Russell Westbrook definitely outplayed Chris Paul this game. He put up 19 points and 10 more assists.

The Thunder played great, but couldn’t close the game. They lead the Clippers 33-25 at the end of the first quarter. But in the second quarter, the game became a back and forth struggle. It was anyone’s game at the point. The turning point of the game actually came with 6 seconds left in the 2nd.

Griffin vs Ibaka Recap

It happened when a court fight broke out that centered around Blake Griffin, and Thunder’s Serge Ibaka. It’s no secret that Griffin and Ibaka have a dicey history. In April of 2012, Griffin did a monster dunk over Ibaka. The dunk was in typical, slightly-disrespectful Blake Griffin fashion. After the dunk, Griffin gave Ibaka a look that it appeared Ibaka did not like. Fast Forward to last season- March 3 2013. The Thunder and Clippers matched up again, and Griffin and Ibaka were both under the basket trying to get the rebound on the play. Ibaka blocked out Griffin, then hit him hard in the lower groin to prevent him from getting the ball. Griffin, clearly in pain, fell to the ground. Ibaka was called for a flagrant foul and was ejected from the game.

The Fight that Changed the Game

Back to the Present: with 6 seconds left in the second quarter, Griffin caught a rebound deep in the paint off a missed basket from teammate Chris Paul. Griffin jumped to try and put the ball in the net, and Ibaka tried to block him. The two players ended up getting entangled, with Ibaka’s arm wrapped around Griffin’s armpit and shoulder. Ibaka lightly shoved Griffin off of him. At this point, Clippers SF Matt Barnes, who seemed to have thought Ibaka had pushed Griffin out of spite, came over and pushed Ibaka hard. Ibaka pushed back, and everyone on the court got involved in the scuffle. With tensions high, The refs quickly broke up the fight. Both Matt Barnes and Sergio Ibaka were ejected from the game. Blake Griffin received a technical foul from the confrontation

Thunder can’t come back

This really changed the momentum of the game in the Clippers favor. Without Ibaka, the Thunder could not keep up. The Clippers outscored them 30-16 in the third quarter. The Thunder had a pretty good run in the fourth, but the Clippers were able to stay ahead. They finished the game 111-103.

So, after not being able to beat the Thunder at all last season, the Clippers beat them in their first matchup of the 2013-2014 season. But would the outcome have been the same if that fight hadn’t broken out? Since the game, Matt Barnes has had to, and still has to, explain his actions from that night. I think it can be agreed by a large majority of people that he definitely did not have to push Ibaka. Griffin and Ibaka got a little tangled up, but it could have ended there. Barnes was trying to look out for his teammate, but his involvement ended up making things worse.

After this game, the Clippers are now 6-3. The Thunder are 5-2. The two teams will face off again next Thursday, November 21.