L.A. Clippers star forward Blake Griffin's status remains somewhat of a mystery after he exited Saturday night's 118-107 road win over Houston.

On the night the Clippers clinched their third straight playoff berth, the night was marred by Griffin's early departure. The All-Star forward's night ended midway through the first quarter when he complained of back spasms.

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Currently, the Western Conference's No. 3 seed, the Clips have won eight of their last 10, with Griffin largely leading the way. The fourth-year veteran is averaging a career-high 24.3 points on 53.2 percent shooting and 9.6 rebounds. Griffin is averaging a career-high four assists, second high on the team to Chris Paul's 10.9.

Against the Rockets, the Clippers who also hampered by the loss of reserve forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who was ejected by coach Doc Rivers.

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"I've talked about emotional hijacks," Rivers told ESPN. said. "If you have one, I'll send you back. We've talked about that as a group. I didn't make a big deal, didn't address it halftime, and it's not a big deal. We needed him tonight, but he wasn't here emotionally. So you tell him to go and sit."

"I've talked about emotional hijacks," Rivers told SBNation.com. "If you have one, I'll send you back. We've talked about that as a group. I didn't make a big deal, didn't address it halftime, and it's not a big deal. We needed him tonight, but he wasn't here emotionally. So you tell him to go and sit."

The Clippers, who led the fourth-seeded Rockets by a game, have seven games remaining.

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