Blake Griffin’s Status Unknown for Game 6

The LA Clippers lost what they considered to be a must-win Game 5 last night. Now facing elimination, Blake Griffin’s health is the biggest question mark as the series heads back to Memphis. Per Yahoo! Sports: “A somber Blake Griffin limped out of the Los Angeles Clippers’ locker room with the worst of ankle sprains. The painful shuffle happened long after Blake watched the last 17 minutes of his team’s Tuesday night playoff loss from the training room. With or without Griffin, Chris Paul and the Clippers are now a loss away from ending the franchise’s so-called greatest season in the first round of the playoffs to the Memphis Grizzlies. ‘It’s a challenge. They are tough at home,’ Griffin said sitting on a counter, making sure to keep weight off the high ankle sprain on his left foot. ‘But we’ve gotten tough wins at their place before. So you can’t rule anything out. Obviously, this is it. Our backs are against the wall. We have to play with a sense of urgency or everybody knows what happens.’ The Grizzlies took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series with a 103-93 victory in Game 5. Memphis can advance with its fourth straight win on Friday night. Griffin has two days, which includes a long flight to Memphis, to improve from an injury he suffered Monday at practice. Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro called the mishap ‘freakish,’ saying Griffin was working on a post move while going half-speed in a drill when he landed on teammate Lamar Odom’s foot. Griffin received treatment until late Monday night, but wasn’t sure he’d play when he arrived at Staples Center. He gutted out 19 minutes with the aid of pain killers, earning four points on 2-of-7 shooting, five rebounds and five assists in Game 5. The athletic training staff took him out of the game for good with 5:39 remaining in the third quarter and the Clippers down 65-56. Griffin hopes to play in Game 6, but it’s tough to expect much production from him. ‘I’ve never had a high ankle sprain before,’ Griffin said. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever had [an ankle sprain] this bad before. Normally, I can go in a couple days or the next day. We just got to wait and see. It’s two days. I felt good enough at the beginning of the game today, but it just kind of got worse as the game went on. Hopefully, two days of rest and two days of treatment will help me.'”