Austin Rivers gets 11 stitches on cuts near eye, returns to game

— -- PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Los Angeles Clippers, already playing without Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, lost Austin Rivers briefly early in the first quarter of Game 6 on Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Rivers, starting at point guard in place of Paul, left the court to receive four stitches on top of his left eye and seven stitches below his eye. He returned to the court with 5:03 left in the second quarter and finished with 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds in 32 minutes of play. The Clippers fell 106-103, losing the series to the Blazers, 4-2.

Rivers was hit in the face by an elbow from Trail Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu, who was going up for a rebound with 6:46 left in the first quarter. Rivers immediately hit the floor and was bleeding profusely before being taken to the locker room.

Pablo Prigioni came in for Rivers before he returned in the second quarter.

On Tuesday, the Clippers announced that Griffin would miss the remainder of the postseason and Paul would be out indefinitely.

Griffin aggravated a left quadriceps injury on Monday in Game 4 of the series. An MRI revealed no further structural damage, and the team said he'll be ready for the start of training camp.

Paul, meanwhile, underwent surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles to repair a right hand fracture that he suffered in the third quarter of Monday's game. Team sources indicated the recovery time for Paul is four to six weeks.