Grudge match

Old scores are set to renewed as the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors square off in the first round of the NBA play-offs on this morning (Singapore time).

The two teams from California have split their four meetings this season 2-2 and there has been no shortage of drama in the matches.

Most notably last Christmas when Clippers star Blake Griffin was elbowed by Warriors forward Draymond Green.

All-Star Griffin was ejected during that game after receiving two technicals.

Last month, the power forward and Jermaine O'Neal squabbled in a Clippers victory and it carried over after the game.

"I don't have Jermaine's number so I don't really talk to him," Griffin told The Washington Post yesterday.

"I don't know if there's a lingering issue or not."

Meanwhile Warriors guard Klay Thompson fired his own volley at Griffin.

He told a San Francisco radio station this week: "He is a good guy off the court but he probably just... plays pretty physical and flops a little bit.

"He flails his arms around so, you know, you might catch a random elbow or something that doesn't, you know, rub off too well on guys.

OUT OF CONTROL

"He's kind of like a bull in a china shop, kind of out of control sometimes.

"And then you do just see him flop sometimes, like how can a guy that big and strong flop that much?

"I can see how that gets under people's skin and (can) be frustrating to play against."

Griffin's Western Conference All-Star teammate Stephen Curry believes that fans are in for a fascinating series, considering how their team's previous matches played out.

He said: "It'll be an entertaining series just because how the regular season went."

"You've got to be prepared for anything."

But Clippers point guard Chris Paul is paying no attention to what transpired between the teams during the regular season.

"It's just good stories," he replied, when asked about the acrimony between the two sides.

"At the end of the day, it comes down to this series.

"Anything that happened in the past, today it doesn't matter. It's all about Game One."

While much of the buzz in the lead-up to Game One is on the animosity between the teams, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers isn't buying into it.

"I don't buy into all that dislike stuff," he said.

"You shouldn't like the team that you're trying to beat and they shouldn't like you." - Wire Services.

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He’s kind of like a bull in a china shop, kind of out of control sometimes. And then you do just see him flop sometimes, like how can a guy that big and strong flop that much? I can see how that gets under people’s skin and (can) be frustrating to play against.

— Warriors guard Klay Thompson on Blake Griffin