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This Lob City Smash Will Power You Through Your Morning

Admittedly, when looking over the latest Chris Paul-Blake Griffin alley oop, the focus is generally on the play itself, and not the impact it may or may not have had on the game in question. There’s nothing wrong with that – getting excited over high-flying athletic plays is a big part of being a basketball fan – but the oop would definitely get taken up a level it it were especially relevant to the game’s result.

Enter last night’s Hornets-Clippers contest at the Staples Center. The Clippers were down 84-74 after three quarters but rallied in the fourth, eventually pulling out a 107-98 win. Before the Clippers finished the game off, they were up by the tenuous score of 98-95 with two minutes left. Enter the Paul-Griffin tag team to put a little more cushion on that lead:

This Clippers crowd is proof that seeing these alley oops in person must never get old. How many of these have they seen at this point? An awful lot, but they’re still loving every second. Hey, you would too if your team was finally good after being the butt of so many jokes for so long. Speaking of that, the reason for the Clippers’ dramatic improvement this year, Paul, ought to get a shoutout: even by his lofty standards he was unbelievable last night. 33 points, 13 assists against two turnovers, and eight steals. He’s good. Oh, and he and Griffin did this too:

Lob City, whether they like it or not.