Los Angeles Clippers storm past Houston Rockets in game one

The Los Angeles Clippers produced a blistering second-half performance to beat the Houston Rockets in game one of the NBA Western Conference playoff semi-final on Monday night.

Houston, the West's second seed, edged a scrappy, turnover-heavy first half and led by four points at the interval, but then LA took over.

Despite being without injured point-guard Chris Paul, the visitors surged to a 16-point victory in the second half as Blake Griffin dominated in all areas.

The power-forward posted his second consecutive triple-double with 26 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, while Houston All-Star James Harden scored 20 points but committed nine turnovers.

The Rockets will hope to level the series when they host game two on Wednesday night.