Oklahoma City Thunder: Chris Paul takes blame for Clippers' overtime loss

When told Paul was taking the blame, Griffin shook his head and said: “It's not on him. It's on all of us. We've got to help him out. He's going to say that, but his defense out there, his leadership out there. It goes way beyond just the shots or the points, or whatever it is.

“We played poorly. We didn't play well at all. Our rotation was a little messed up. We didn't play well at all and we all know that. We'll be ready next time. We have a tough squad, a squad that never gives up and that's promising. Like I said, next time we'll be ready. I thought our effort down the stretch was great. It wasn't because of lack of effort.”

Three-time scoring champ Kevin Durant, like Paul, has plenty of “clutch minute” points and also knows the feeling of coming up short.

“It's frustrating because you put so much time into it, you put your heart into it,” Durant said. “You go out there and play hard and if it doesn't come out the way you want it to, it's frustrating.

“CP is an unbelievable leader. Wins and losses, he just moves on. You can tell how he plays. I'm the same way. You can learn a lot from a guy like him, but I'm glad we came out on top.”

The loss snapped the Clippers' six-game winning streak. They play at Brooklyn on Friday and at Atlanta on Saturday to close out a four-game road trip.