NBA wrap: Pistons' Blake Griffin scores 44 points in first game back in LA vs. Clippers

The thunderous dunker has continued to develop his skill set since entering the league in 2009.

Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin was out for revenge Saturday.

The Pistons star returned to Los Angeles to take on his old team, the Clippers.

Griffin was aggressive from the start, scoring in bunches against his former teammates. He dropped 44 points on 13-of-23 shooting in a 109-104 Clippers win.

The thunderous dunker has continued to develop his skill set since entering the league in 2009. He appeared to avoid shaking the hand of Clippers owner Steve Balmer before the matchup, but claims he was simply locked into his pregame routine.

Danilo Gallinari led the way for the Clippers, scoring 23 points. Lou Williams scored 22 while Montrezl Harrell contributed 21 to round out the scoring for Los Angeles.

The 24-18 Clippers got off to a hot start this season, but have dropped to sixth place in the Western Conference. The 18-23 Pistons are just outside the playoff picture, sitting in ninth in the Eastern Conference.

Studs of the Night

Karl-Anthony Towns put together a monster stat line of 27 points and 27 rebounds as the Timberwolves beat the Pelicans 110-106.

Aaron Gordon recorded 28 points and 12 rebounds to help the Magic claim a narrow 105-103 victory against the Celtics.

Kelly Oubre Jr. dropped 26 points and 11 rebounds on the first-place Nuggets to give the Suns a 102-93 win.

Duds of the Night

Bruce Brown scored two points on 0-of-7 shooting for the Pistons.

Iman Shumpert scored five points on 2-of-9 shooting as the Kings took down the Hornets 104-97.

Highlights

Wendell Carter Jr. stuffed Royce O'Neale at the rim in the Bulls' 110-102 loss against the Jazz.

Russell Westbrook faked a behind-the-back pass to distract Patty Mills and finish a fast-break layup as the Thunder topped the Spurs 122-112.

What's Next?

Warriors (28-14) at Mavericks (20-22) 7 p.m. ET —  Golden State and Dallas are 1-1 against each other this season so far. Sunday's matchup will be the final regular-season meeting between these two teams. Steve Kerr praised Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic's play as of late, and he'll have to perform at a high level to top the reigning NBA champions.