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LA Clippers forward Blake Griffin to undergo testing on injured left knee

Blake Griffin injured his left knee after falling awkwardly during a loose ball scrum late in Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

LA Clippers teammate Austin Rivers fell on top of Griffin’s leg, causing it to bend awkwardly. Griffin immediately collapsed to the floor and held the injured leg, which forced him to exit the game with just under four minutes remaining. It is the same leg on which Griffin underwent surgery for a broken left kneecap that held him out the 2009-10 season.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters after the game that Griffin would undergo further testing on Tuesday.

“He’s not in high spirits. He’s down. Right now, he’s where we are at, hoping that it was just a bang and then it hurt and then he’ll be all right. But his spirits are down right now, yeah. It didn’t look good. But we’ll just have to wait and see.

“You could see right when it happened. Lonzo was just trying to make a play, but he went in. Usually when you go in like that, that hard … they call it.”

The five-time All-Star was averaging 23.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per contest entering Monday night’s contest, which the Clippers won 120-115. The team is already struggling with injuries to Danilo Gallinari (glute) and Patrick Beverley (knee), though they have now won three games in a row following a nine-game skid.

Griffin has dealt with injuries during his eight NBA seasons and over the past three seasons, he has played in 67, 35 and 61 games, respectively. He missed the Clippers’ first-round playoff series vs. the Utah Jazz when he hurt the plantar of his right big toe in Game 3 of that series.

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