Blake Griffin considered escalating his scuffle with Trevor Booker

Blake Griffin and Trevor Booker got into a scuffle in the third quarter of the Clippers’ game against the Utah Jazz on Friday night.

Booker committed a hard foul on Griffin as he elevated for a dunk. Griffin responded by grabbing the back of Booker’s head, and further escalation appeared imminent before teammates and referees stepped in to restrain and separate the two.

Griffin acknowledged after the game that he considered taking his retaliation further.

“I was going to and then thought, it’s preseason, it’s not worth it,” Griffin said. “That’s nothing personal to waste it on.”

Booker was charged with a flagrant foul and a technical foul on the play. Griffin and Chris Paul also got technical fouls.

Griffin is often the recipient of hard fouls because of his aggressive style of play on offense and his dominance in the post.

“You don’t ever want him to do anything, honestly, but he gets hit with more cheap shots, I think, probably because I’m coaching him, than anyone in the league,” Clippers’ Coach Doc Rivers said.

Griffin indicated he was tired of the hard fouls. When asked if there’s going to come a time when he’s not going to use so much restraint, he didn’t hesitate.

“Yeah, probably, probably,” he said. “But I’m not going to just do it for no reason. If it’s not warranted, and I didn’t think that was.”

Griffin said he hears mixed messages from people on how he should respond to those plays.

“On one hand, everybody tells me to do something,” he said. “On the other hand, people tell me to not complain and just play ball. You’re not going to please everybody. I’ve just got to do whatever I feel is right, just use my judgment.”

Paul said he wants Griffin to use restraint because the team needs him. He pointed out that if the Clippers lose Griffin because he loses his cool, the team will suffer greatly.

Griffin, however, said there’s a line that he has to draw.

“It’s more about standing up for yourself,” he said. “There are times when hard fouls are just a part of the game, and then there’s times when they’re a little bit further than that. I’m not saying that’s what that was tonight. Like I said, I’ve just got to use my judgment.”-