Teammates have fun teasing each other, and Clippers video goes viral

The most compelling back-and-forth involving the Clippers on Friday came hours before they played the Philadelphia 76ers.

Reserve point guard Austin Rivers mimicked All-Star teammate Blake Griffin’s between-the-legs dribbling during the Clippers’ morning shoot-around, and of course it didn’t end there.

Griffin imitated Rivers’ cocky demeanor while dribbling on the perimeter before waving off an imaginary teammate and driving into the lane to heave a floater about 20 feet over the backboard.

“We all dish it out, and we all take it,” Griffin said later, “so it was just his time.”

It might have remained just a humorous exchange between teammates had Clippers small forward Matt Barnes not posted footage of Griffin’s comedy routine on Instagram. Rivers discovered the video was going viral when teammate Hedo Turkoglu showed it to him on the team bus on the way back to the hotel.

“It had 10,000 likes already,” Rivers recalled. “I was like, ‘Jesus. People are going to make this bigger than what it is.’ ”

Rivers contributed to the escalation by posting a picture on Instagram of Barnes next to photos of look-alike Steve-O, a stuntman and comedian from the “Jackass” television series. Rivers also posted a photo of boxer Canelo Alvarez, the implication being that Alvarez resembled Griffin.

There was a to-be-continued feel to the teasing.

“Right when I came in the locker room today after I posted that,” Rivers said, “Matt was looking at me and he goes, ‘OK.’ ... Me and Blake are at peace, but when you start something like that with Matt, he just doesn’t stop.”

Rivers said he couldn’t believe that many Instagram commenters didn’t understand the video was a joke. The clip ends with Griffin hugging his teammate.

“To go at each other like that,” Rivers said, “you have to be close enough to feel comfortable doing it.”

Rivers said the only reason his moves making fun of Griffin weren’t shown was because Barnes didn’t start recording until Griffin started his routine. Griffin joked that the video wasn’t shown was because Rivers’ parody wasn’t very good.

Rivers said he might ask Barnes to record his Griffin impression the next time the Clippers practice. That is, of course, if Barnes has forgiven him.

Turtle time

Rivers and Barnes did collaborate on a different type of filming. They were among a handful of Clippers players who participated in a basketball scene to be included in the next “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie.

“D.J. had like the big line,” Rivers said, referring to center DeAndre Jordan. “He did really well.”

Still waiting

Backup guard Nate Robinson remained with the Clippers but could not attend the game against the 76ers at Wells Fargo Center because he was no longer under contract. He watched the game from the team hotel and was scheduled to travel to Boston with the Clippers.

The team is monitoring Robinson’s sore left knee before deciding whether to sign him for the rest of the season after his second 10-day contract expired Thursday.

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch