Blake Griffin Hurts Left Ankle, Returns

Clippers All-Star power forward Blake Griffin left tonight's game against the Nets mid-way through the third quarter with a left ankle injury.

Griffin grabbed a defensive rebound, turned upcourt, and passed the ball out to Chris Paul before leaning over to grab his left Achilles.  He would stay in the game for a couple plays before calling timeout, but he was limping badly.

Clippers trainer Jasen Powell escorted Blake to the locker room, where Prime Ticket cameras showed him pounding the hallway wall as he walked under his own power.

More on this as we get it.

UPDATE:

Blake Griffin returned to the Clippers bench shortly after and has just checked back into the game.  We'll monitor his status as the game progresses.

Post-Game Update:

Blake returned to the game, and while he may have slightly been favoring his left ankle, he had his best night of the season, with 30 points and 12 rebounds on 12-19 shooting.  After the game, he confirmed that it was an Achilles injury, adding that "it might have scared me more than it should have".

Griffin will likely have a precautionary MRI on his ankle to confirm that there are no serious problems, and once tonight's adrenaline wears off there could be swelling and soreness over the next few days.