Marc Gasol the hero as Memphis Grizzlies upend Los Angeles Clippers 94-85 – NBA Recap
On Monday night at the FedExForum, Memphis, TN, the Memphis Grizzlies disposed off the Los Angeles Clippers 94-85, continuing the hot run of form which has seen them beat the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder
and Los Angeles Clippers – all genuine title contenders.
In this season, Memphis have been insurmountable on nights on which they shoot 50% or more from the field and tonight was the same case. Memphis shot an exact 50% from the floor and improved to 11-0 when connecting on half of their
shots.
Marc Gasol led the scoring for the Grizzlies with 18 points while also grabbing 8 rebounds and distributing 7 assists mostly from the paint to the Memphis cutters. Rudy g*y added 16; Marreese Speights added 12 while Mike Conley
contributed 13 points. Reserve guard O.J. Mayo added 13 points while Zach Randolph had another good night with a double-double of 10 points and 12 boards, off the bench. Memphis had 6 players scoring in double figures.
Chris Paul had a game high with 21 points while also getting 6 assists to his name. Blake Griffin had 19 points, DeAndre Jordan had 14 points with 14 rebound and Randy Foye chipped in with 11 points. Eric Bledsoe came off the bench
to add 11 points as only 9 players featured in the game as per Vinny Del Negro`s decision.
Memphis, were extremely dominant from the star of the game as they Clippers only lead came in the opening stages of the match. Both teams traded baskets with each for several minutes and the scores were all tied at 8 each with
7:54 remaining in the first. Grizzlies held the Clippers scoreless for the next two minutes while adding 7 points in their account. Grizzlies led 15-8 with 5:55 remaining in the first. This advantage remained for the rest of the quarter as it ended with a
score of 24-18.
The scores never really got close for the remainder of first half as they Grizzlies held an 11 point advantage at the halfway stage, 52-41. In the third quarter, both teams went head to head with each other. They managed to score19
points each with no side making a significant run in the third but the 11 point advantage the Grizzlies held, remained intact going into the fourth.
In the opening 5 minutes of the final quarter, the Clippers scored only on two trips to the offence where as the Grizzlies, were a little more successful as they scored on 4 possessions plus two free throws from Randolph making
it 81-64 with 7:01 remaining in the game.
From that point on till there were only 55.8 seconds left on the clock, the Clippers scored 19 points while only allowing the Grizzlies to score 5, making it a one possession game with a score of 86-83.
Rudy g*y however responded back by scoring 4 quick points, 2 on a slam dunk and the other 2 from the free throw line to make it 90-83. This halted the Clippers momentum as they only scored two more points on the night where as
the Grizzlies added 4 more, all from Mike Conley's free throws to end the game.
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