Clippers’ Blake Griffin aiming to play on three-game trip, but not tonight against Denver

Clippers forward Blake Griffin has ramped up his workouts over the last several days with designs on playing sometime during the team’s three-game trip.

Griffin said he won’t play Saturday night when the Clippers meet the Denver Nuggets, but his hope is to play either at Atlanta on Monday night or at Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

He has been sidelined the last 16 games while recovering from right knee surgery.

Before the Clippers’ shootaround Saturday, Griffin said he doesn’t have a target date to return. The Clippers appear to leaning toward Griffin playing at Philadelphia.

“I would play tonight if they let me,” Griffin said in his first interview since having the procedure to remove debris from his knee on Dec. 20. “So for me personally, no, there’s not a game that I’m targeting. But this trip, this is it.”

Griffin worked out Friday with teammates Brice Johnson and Alan Anderson, and reported no problems.

Griffin was going to get involved in the Clippers’ shootaround Saturday and the plan was for him to get in a workout Sunday when the Clippers arrive in Atlanta for Monday night’s game against the Hawks.

“It’s as close as I can be, I think,” Griffin said. “It was good to get some contact in yesterday. So it’s good to get some like real work in besides just running and shooting. It’s kind of up to them.”

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @BA_Turner