Oct 30, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) and guard Chris Paul (3) react to a foul call in the second half of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center. Clippers won 93-90.
Oct 30, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) and guard Chris Paul (3) react to a foul call in the second half of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center. Clippers won 93-90. REUTERS

The Oklahoma City Thunder was missing the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) and just eight minutes into the first quarter, the team was again hobbled when Russell Westbrook had to leave the game for good with a right hand injury. Yet, the team gave one of the best teams in the conference a good fight before bowing down, 93-90.

Apart from Westbrook and Durant, the Thunder were already without several key cogs such as Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb, free agent signing Anthony Morrow and rookie Mitch McGary. Despite the handicap, Perry Jones III, the draft pick from last year, provided the needed offensive burst for the Western Conference finalist. Jones exploded with a statistical line that can be called Kevin Durant-ish, 32 points, 7 rebounds, three assists and a block.

The Clippers were carried by their usual stars of Chris Paul (22 points, 7 assists) and Blake Griffin (23 points, 7 rebounds) and needed a Serge Ibaka three to go way off as the buzzer sounded to secure the win. The Clippers were opening the season on an advertisement campaign that is hinged on the words, "Be Relentless." That hardly was the case as the team surrendered eight points early on to the streaking Thunder.

''It was pretty ugly,'' Clippers coach Doc Rivers said per Yahoo Sports. ''We have 81 more games to fix it.''

The team was lucky to get away from a a Thunder squad that eliminated them in the playoffs last year. This team the club is no longer hounded by racial discrimination issues and is being pushed by a new ownership group that shelled more than $2 billion to bring the first championship to the Clipper franchise. Coach Doc Rivers understands the pressure on the team to deliver and admitted that there are still major tweaks to be made before the product can be ready for shipping.

The Thunder, on the other hand, are already 0-2 in the season and is staring into the uncertainty of the Russell Westbrook status. The all-star point guard already had his x-rays taken at Staples Center and will be re-evaluated tomorrow to confirm the extent of damage to the hand. A broken hand typically need 4 to 6 weeks to heal depending on the gravity of the damage and with Kevin Durant still out for two months, things could get ugly early on for the perennial Western Conference contender.