LOS ANGELES – In Game 2, the Memphis Grizzlies found a way to significantly narrow that embarrassing Game 1 rebounding gap[1] against the Los Angeles Clippers.
As a result, they found a way to stay close to the Clippers.
But they still haven’t found a way to beat the Clippers.
Clippers point guard Chris Paul saw to that, banking in a game-winning shot off a drive with 0.1 seconds left for another chapter in his book of heroics.
BOX SCORE: Clippers 93, Grizzlies 91[2]
SCHEDULE: Full playoffs breakdown[3]
Paul ended up going one-on-one – and beating – Memphis guard Tony Allen, considered one of the league’s best on-ball defenders.
“He played as good defense as he could,” Paul said. “I looked up at the clock and said, ‘I better get a shot off.’ I just tried to attack and I got a shot.”
Los Angeles, seemingly in control the entire game until finding themselves in a nail biter at the end, moved to a 2-0 advantage in a first-round Western Conference playoff series with a 93-91 victory Monday night.
The series now shifts to Memphis, with Game 3 Thursday night.
VIDEO: Chris Paul hits game-winner
This was a rugged, tense seven-game first-round series last year, with the Clippers winning Game 7 in Memphis after failing to close out the series at Staples in Game 6.
A year later, the Clippers, so far, are again the better team.
Paul, as he is wont to do, began to exert his will on the game in the second half and eventually claimed it as his own, finishing with 24 points and nine assists.
He scored the Clippers’ final eight points.
“Star players, that’s what they do,” Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. “Star players step up at the biggest moments. Chris has done it his whole career. I have incredible confidence in him at the end of games. At the biggest moments, that’s usually when he’s at his best. That’s a gift.”
Clippers forward Blake Griffin scored 21 points, winning his battle with Memphis’ Zach Randolph, who had 13, and the Clippers’ bench was again productive and inspiring. It was a blocked shot by sub Lamar Odom that led to a dunk by sub Eric Bledsoe that gave the Clippers their first 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter. It was one of 10 Clippers blocks in the game – a franchise record.
Clippers reserve guard Jamal Crawford reminded everyone why he won a Sixth Man of the Year Award three years ago and was second to New York’s J.R. Smith when this year’s award was announced Monday. He made his first six shots and finished with 15 points.
The Clippers’ bench outscored the Grizzlies’ bench 30-11.
NBA: Kobe says he’s done tweeting during games[4]
Memphis point guard Mike Conley tried valiantly to get the Grizzlies going, finishing with 28 points and nine assists.
He led a comeback from 12 points down early in the fourth quarter, slicing to the rim for layups around the Clippers’ interior defense.
Then, on a fast break, Darrell Arthur’s three-point play with 1:37 tied the game at 89.
But Paul hit a jumper to retake the lead.
After both teams failed to score, Memphis had the ball down 91-89 with 21 seconds left. After dribbling to the right side, Conley found Grizzlies center Marc Gasol wide open in front of the basket for a dunk and a 91-91 tie with 13.9 seconds left.
But Paul would score last.
“This game was tough,” Conley said. “I thought we played as well as we could. They just made the plays at the end to beat us. To go home to Memphis 0-2 against a team like this is tough.”
Griffin and Randolph had played to a virtual standstill in Game 1, with neither being that effective offensively and both getting into foul trouble.
“It’s hard to ref that matchup,” Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. “Blake is incredibly athletic and Zach is very good with his hand-to-hand combat. It’s a challenge every night.”
Griffin seized the upper hand early in Game 2, scoring 13 points and grabbing five rebounds in the first 12 minutes.
“It was just being aggressive,” he said. “I felt I passed up some shots in Game 1. And my teammates did a great job of spacing the floor and getting me open shots.”
The Clippers had killed the Grizzlies on the boards in Game 1 Saturday, winning the rebounding battle by an astounding 47-23 margin.
The rebounding distribution in that game was so strange that Odom, in just 18 minutes, had more rebounds (seven) than Gasol and Randolph combined (four for Randolph, two for Gasol).
This didn’t compute for the Grizzlies, who rank third in the league in rebounding differential (plus-3.6), three spots ahead of the Clippers (plus-2.5).
Considering that 14 of the Clips’ rebounds came on the offensive end and they outscored the Grizzlies 25-5 in the paint, that by itself put the Clips in control of a game that turned into a rout in the fourth quarter, the Clippers eventually winning 112-91.
The rebounding totals were much closer Monday night (40-38 Clippers), and so was the game. But it all added up to another W for the Clippers.
And another highlight for the CP3 collection.
Everybody saw it the same way.
Clippers Guard Chauncey Billups: “A great player made a great play.”
Conley: “We put our best defender on him. He just made a tough shot. That’s what great players do.”
Griffin: “He’s one of the best closers in the game. He does it night in and night out.”
PHOTOS: Clippers-Grizzlies series
References
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/playoffs/2013/04/21/los-angeles-clippers-vs-memphis-grizzlies/2100509/ (www.usatoday.com)
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nba/game/boxscore/l.nba.com-2012-e.18269/ (www.usatoday.com)
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/playoffs/2013/04/18/postseason-first-round-matchups-schedule/2092613/ (www.usatoday.com)
- ^ http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/04/kobe-bryant-lakers-twitter-playoffs-dantoni/ (ftw.usatoday.com)
