Blake Griffin says ‘it’s not always fair’ how referees handle spats with Clippers

Blake Griffin notices how NBA referees handle spats with players on other teams. Then there’s the way the Clippers forward feels those same referees deal with the players on his team.

The two scenarios don’t always align in his mind.

“I watch a lot of basketball games and I watch a lot of guys react to certain plays,” Griffin said late Wednesday night, “and I see our guys do the same thing and sometimes it’s not quite the same amount of cushion, so we need to be better and I think we’ve put ourselves in that position, but it’s not always fair.”

DeAndre Jordan’s two technical fouls and resulting ejection Wednesday during the Clippers’ 103-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks gave the Clippers a league-leading 20 technical fouls this season, including the three called on Coach Doc Rivers.

“That was a goal coming into the season,” Griffin said dryly when asked about the Clippers’ unsurpassed number of technicals.

Griffin and Jordan each have six technicals, tying Indiana’s Paul George for the league lead entering play Thursday. Jordan received his two technicals Wednesday in rapid-fire succession midway through the third quarter from referee Marc Davis for complaining about no foul being called on a play in which the center ended up on the court and lost the ball out of bounds for a turnover.

“Obviously we don’t want anybody to get thrown out of a game and I don’t know honestly if that was enough to get thrown out,” Rivers said. “I don’t like anybody getting thrown out, but it happens.”

Griffin was ejected against Phoenix last month after receiving two technical fouls. He was also ejected last week against Chicago after receiving a flagrant-2 foul.

Department of energy

For all his palm-to-the-forehead mistakes such as defending the wrong man (which happened Wednesday) and flinging passes that seem as likely to end up in the second row as they do in the hands of teammates, it’s clear Lance Stephenson has been a net positive for the Clippers.

Stephenson’s energy is contagious and his playmaking often trumps that of fellow reserve Austin Rivers, who is usually the second-unit point guard.

“The way he pushes the ball,” Clippers All-Star point guard Chris Paul said of Stephenson, “I wish I could push it like that.”

Stephenson finished with four points, four assists and two rebounds in 18 minutes after not having played at all two days earlier against the Detroit Pistons, but his impact far exceeded those modest statistics.

There is part of Stephenson’s play that appears to grate on Rivers, however, most notably his rejoicing in every highlight play. He danced across the court in the second quarter after bouncing a no-look pass to Paul Pierce for a layup.

“I said, ‘You can’t have a parade after every basket’ and he did that,” Rivers said, “but on the upside of it, he’s doing so many other things for us and I think our guys now get him. They understand he really wants to make plays, he doesn’t necessarily want to score and I think our guys are trying to get him the ball so he can run in transition more.”

Griffin seemed to be more accommodating of Stephenson’s quirks.

“The dunk and the celebration and the missed defensive assignment on the other end, we’ll live with it for now,” Griffin said. “I remember I said something to him right after that and he was like, ‘Awww.’ He didn’t even know he did it.

“I love Lance because he wants to get better and he wants to be a team player and he is and he’s always looking to make guys better and distribute the ball. That’s the kind of guy you want to have on your team.”

Follow Ben Bolch on Twitter: @latbbolch

CLIPPERS NEXT UP

at San Antonio

When: 5 p.m. PST, Friday.

Where: AT&T Center.

On the air: TV: ESPN, Prime; Radio: 980, 1330.

Records: Spurs 22-5; Clippers 16-10.

Record vs. Spurs (2014-15): 2-2.

Update: San Antonio has won eight of its last nine games to solidify its hold on second place in the Western Conference. The Spurs aren’t just beating teams, they’re killing them, outscoring their opponents by an average of 13.1 points per game. But the Clippers have provided some static inside the AT&T Center, handing the Spurs three of their last five home losses since Jan. 6, 2015, including the playoffs. A hobbling Chris Paul won the epic first-round playoff series between the teams with a banked-in jumper in the closing seconds of Game 7 at Staples Center.