Rockets push their way into Clippers' locker room after heated game, sources say

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Lou Williams scored 31 points, Blake Griffin added 29 before his ejection, and the Clippers defeated the Rockets 113-102 on Monday night as hot tempers flared and carried over after the game.

In Chris Paul's heated return to Staples Center against his former team, he received a standing ovation from Clippers fans, along with more than a few boos.

The Clippers faithful are familiar with Paul's explosive nature on the court, and he was Houston's top scorer with 19 points in a game that remained close until the third quarter.

That's when Griffin helped the Clippers pull away to a double-digit lead. Even the team's owner, Steve Balmer, was seen dancing in the aisles.

Tempers erupted several times during the game, with Paul and Griffin exchanging harsh words at one point. Trevor Ariza, a former UCLA Bruin and ex-Laker, had a verbal exchange with the Clippers' bench.

After L.A.'s win, Ariza and teammates James Harden and Gerald Green entered the Clippers' locker room to confront Austin Rivers but were escorted out by security personnel, according to multiple sources.

Asked about it, Clippers coach Doc Rivers would only say his team was in its own locker room. "Their entire team was not in their locker room," he said, referring to the Rockets.

Walking into his postgame interview, Rivers joked, "We're honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we're non-violent."

Asked if there was a postgame confrontation, Paul replied: "I don't know ... We took our loss. You know what I mean? Tough loss."

A reporter posed the same question to Griffin in a separate interview.

"We were where we were supposed to be -- we were in our locker room," Griffin said. "So whatever happens over there -- I mean, we can't control what anybody else does. We control what we did. We were in our locker room, everybody was in our seats. That was it."