Blake Griffin Hits Game-Winning 3-Pointer in Overtime vs. Phoenix Suns

If his game-winning, step-back triple is any indication, Blake Griffin's maturation from one-dimensional dunker to multifaceted offensive superstar is now complete.

Griffin buried a right-wing trey at the buzzer to give the Los Angeles Clippers a 121-120 overtime win against the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, and it was a doozy.

Blanketed by P.J. Tucker, Griffin took the inbounds pass with his back to the basket and just 2.6 seconds separating the Clips and a disappointing home loss. As Chris Paul darted past him toward the top of the circle, Griffin kept the ball, turned his left shoulder, took one dribble and, most improbably, stepped back to fire off a three.

It wasn't a high-arcing beauty, but the buzzer-beating fling got the job done. The ball drilled the front of the rim, bounced all the way above the backboard and dropped through.

The rock hung suspended in the air long enough for fans to endure the full gamut of late-game emotions.

As for Griffin, he was forthright in his analysis of the shot.

It's easy to be self-critical, of course, after you've just run screaming up the sideline to celebrate your first career game-winning bucket.

Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek was similarly honest in his postgame reaction.

It's easy to knock Blake for his utilitarian game-winner, but the numbers (albeit in a small sample) indicate this whole three-point-shooting thing might become a bigger part of his game going forward.

Griffin totaled 45 points on the night, two off his career high. And the win extended the surging Clippers' victory streak to eight—the second-longest active string in the NBA.

With their next five games coming against a soft Eastern Conference slate of opponents and momentum building by the second, the Clips could keep this run going a while longer.