National Basketball Association
L.A. Clippers 82, Memphis 72
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, May 13, 2012
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Officials:
#17 Joe Crawford, #55 Bill Kennedy, #13 Monty McCutchen
Attendance:
18119
By SportsDirect Inc.
CLIPPERS 82, GRIZZLIES 72: A hobbled Chris Paul scored 19 points and Los Angeles used a dominant fourth-quarter defensive effort to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
Paul, dealing with a strained right hip flexor, added nine rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals as the Clippers advanced to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time since 2006. Los Angeles will face the San Antonio Spurs, who host Game 1 on Tuesday night.
Nick Young added 13 points while Kenyon Martin had 11. Blake Griffin, battling through a left knee sprain, had just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting.
Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol poured in 19 points apiece for the Grizzlies, who saw their chances to advance torpedoed by a 4-for-18 shooting performance in the fourth quarter.
Up by a point at the half, the Clippers went back and forth with the Grizzlies in a tightly-contested third quarter that saw neither team lead by more than three points. Consecutive long jumpers from Paul put the Clippers back in front with 29 seconds left in the frame, but Gay answered with a 15-foot buzzer-beater as the Grizzlies led 56-55 entering the fourth.
The Clippers responded by scoring the first five points of the quarter, paced by a Nick Young 3-pointer that made it 60-56. Memphis closed to within two before Los Angeles ripped off an 11-3 run capped by a Mo Williams 3-pointer that extended the advantage to 11 with 7:03 remaining.
Memphis clawed back once more, making it a 75-69 game on two Mike Conley free throws with 2:26 left. But the Grizzlies couldn't muster much of anything the rest of the way, missing five more shots and turning the ball over once as the Clippers used free throws to put the game away.
Defense - and lackluster shooting - was the focus in the opening half as the Clippers enjoyed a 39-38 edge at the break. Paul led all scorers with 11 points for Los Angeles while Gasol and Gay had nine apiece to lead the Grizzlies, who shot just 32.5 percent in the half.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Clippers' reserves outscored the Grizzlies' bench 41-11. Memphis G O.J. Mayo led the second unit with a paltry four points on 1-for-11 shooting. ... The Grizzlies went 0-for-13 from 3-point range.
Top Game Performances
| L.A. Clippers |
|
Memphis |
|
Chris Paul 19 |
Scoring |
Marc Gasol 19 |
|
Chris Paul 4 |
Assists |
Mike Conley 5 |
|
Kenyon Martin 10 |
Rebounds |
Zach Randolph 12 |
|
Nick Young 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Marc Gasol 7 |
|
Blake Griffin 2 |
Steals |
Mike Conley 3 |
|
Blake Griffin 2 |
Blocks |
Marc Gasol 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| L.A. Clippers
|
82 |
38.5 |
4-17 |
18-23 |
12 |
46 |
6 |
10 |
17 |
| Memphis
|
72 |
32.5 |
0-13 |
22-31 |
12 |
44 |
4 |
11 |
15 |
Upcoming Games
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L.A. Clippers will play their next game on the road against San Antonio. The Clippers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
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