Chris Paul exits game after straining hamstring, says he's fine

Chris Paul said he was fine, despite coming out of the third quarter of theLA Clippers' 106-101 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night with what the team called "a strained left hamstring."

"I'm OK," Paul said.

"I'm glad I caught it when I did."

Paul grabbed his left hamstring in the third quarter as he was defending Tony Parker along the 3-point line and noticeably slowed down.

Paul went into the locker room shortly thereafter.

"I don't think it's bad, but I don't think you know with a hamstring until the next day," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.

Paul's assurance comes as a relief for the Clippers. The team is withoutBlake Griffin, who is expected to miss four to six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery earlier this week.

Paul missed two games against theHouston Rocketsduring the 2015 Western Conference semifinals due to the same injury.

Paul finished Thursday's contest with 19 points. He added seven boards and handed out six assists to go with a pair of steals.