Warriors’ Shaun Livingston upset by Blake Griffin’s ‘antics’

Shaun Livingston was not pleased with the way Blake Griffin played in the Clippers’ 130-95 preseason win over the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Tuesday at Staples Center.

“He’s going with all these antics; just play,” Livingston told CSNBayArea.com. “He’s out here wrapping me up, putting elbows to my forehead. OK. I understand. Don’t get me wrong. They want to beat us.”

Livingston’s words were the latest verbal jab in a growing rivalry between the Clippers and the Warriors.

Recently tje Warriors’ Klay Thompson called Clippers’ Coach Doc Rivers “bitter” for saying there was luck involved in his team’s championship run. Rivers argued that his comments were misunderstood, but also called the Warriors surprisingly “sensitive” for a team that just won the title.

The Clippers and the Warriors met in the first round of the playoffs in 2014, the Clippers eliminating them in Game 7 of a hard-fought, chippy series. Last season, the Warriors beat the Clippers in three of the team’s four regular season games.

In Tuesday’s win, Griffin looked as though he were in midseason form, scoring 29 points on 11-for-18 shooting in 25 minutes. But according to Livingston, a 12-year veteran, Griffin played with too much intensity.

“You’re out here trying to throw elbows at me and wrap me up and do all that,” Livingston said. “That makes no sense to me. Just play and you don’t have to do all of that. You’re big enough and strong enough that you can just box me out without doing all of that.”

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