Blake Griffin to miss rest of playoffs with toe injury

Blake Griffin will miss the remainder of the NBA Playoffs after sustaining a toe injury against the Utah Jazz Friday night.

Blake Griffin will miss the rest of the NBA Playoffs with a toe injury sustained against the Jazz Friday night, the Clippers announced Saturday morning.

Griffin left Game 3 against Utah in the second quarter, with the Clippers trailing. Chris Paul led LA to a fourth-quarter comeback, and a 2-1 series lead, but the injury to their star power forward could tip the balance of the series back in Utah’s favor.

The Jazz have been playing without one of their stars as well, after Rudy Gobert limped off the court mere seconds into Game 1. Gobert’s injury is not quite as serious, however, and he could return before the end of the series.

This is the second consecutive season Griffin has seen his playoffs cut short by injury. In 2016, he was forced onto the sidelines with a quad injury during the Clippers’ first round series against the Trail Blazers, which they would go on to lose.

The manner of LA’s comeback last night, and in particular the exceptional play of Paul, is cause for optimism for Clippers fans, but it’s hard to spin an injury to a player has talented as Griffin into good news.

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If the Clippers are able to overcome the Jazz in the first round, they’ll likely run into the Warriors in the conference semifinals, a series in which they’d have been huge underdogs even if Griffin was healthy. Golden State have cruised to 2-0 series lead against Portland, dominating with Kevin Durant in Game 1 and without him in Game 2.

Game 4 of LA’s first round playoff series against Utah tips off Sunday night.