Memphis Grizzlies vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Postgame Grades and Analysis
Mike Conley scored 18 points, Jeff Green added 16 and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, 90-87, Monday night at the Staples Center.
The loss snapped the Clippers' four-game winning streak, which, as ESPN's Arash Markazi points out, was a pretty impressive run given the circumstances:
This game was tight throughout, but the Grizzlies utilized a 52-point second half to come away with the win.
The Clippers led for the majority of the first two quarters and took a 44-38 lead into halftime. However, Memphis' defense clamped down in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter when it held Los Angeles to 19 points. It was typical of the Grizzlies' style, and Marc Gasol took note of it, per Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal:
Courtney Lee gave a pretty succinct description of the win, per ESPN's J.A. Adande:
Chris Paul led the Clippers with 30 points and 10 assists, but he turned the ball over on Los Angeles' final possession. The Clippers were down 88-87 with a chance to go ahead, but Paul lost control of his dribble, and the Grizzlies picked up the loose ball. Conley made two free throws to seal the game.
Jamal Crawford was the only other Los Angeles player in double figures, scoring 15 points.
| Marc Gasol | A- |
| Zach Randolph | D |
| Mike Conley | A- |
| Jeff Green | B |
| Tony Allen | B |
| Rest of Team | C |
| Chris Paul | A+ |
| DeAndre Jordan | A- |
| J.J. Redick | D- |
| Jamal Crawford | D |
| Spencer Hawes | C- |
| Rest of Team | B- |
Memphis Grizzlies
Marc Gasol: A-
Marc Gasol was outstanding Monday night.
His stats may not jump out at you, but there is absolutely no question that Gasol imposed his will on this game right from the get-go.
Gasol played the role of facilitator brilliantly, orchestrating the Grizzlies' offense from the post and the top of the key. He found cutters, open three-point shooters and was a triple threat, as he also knocked down jumpers and put the ball on the floor for some nifty layups.
Gasol was also great defensively, blocking three shots.
He finished with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. He shot 6-of-11.
Zach Randolph clearly had some difficulty dealing with the Clippers' length.
Randolph shot only 2-of-11, as the big man tried to get some extra arc on his jumper to loft it over DeAndre Jordan's long arms. It obviously did not go very well.
Z-Bo struggled from the free-throw line, too, going only 3-of-6 from the stripe.
He finished with seven points and 10 rebounds.
Mike Conley: A-
Mike Conley was big-time in the win.
The point guard led Memphis with 18 points, shooting a solid 5-of-10 from the floor and going 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
Conley was aggressive when he needed to be and also knew when to set his teammates up, as evidenced by his seven dimes.
Perhaps his biggest moment of the game was hitting a deep three-pointer with the shot clock about to expire at one point in the third quarter.
Jeff Green: B
Jeff Green had some bright moments against the Clippers.
While the wing shot only 5-of-12 from the floor, he buried three triples, all of them coming from the left corner during the third quarter.
He scored 11 of his 16 points during the third period, which was absolutely crucial.
You had to like Green's aggressiveness.
He also grabbed six rebounds.
Tony Allen: B
Tony Allen did not shoot the ball well, going 4-of-10, but he played some tough wing defense like he so often does, especially on Jamal Crawford.
Allen made life miserable for the Clippers perimeter players, using his junkyard-dog style to get up in their jerseys around the three-point line.
He contributed 10 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes.
Rest of Team: C
Courtney Lee scored nine points, and then there were a lot of four-point scorers up-and-down the rest of the roster.
Kosta Koufos, Beno Udrih, Nick Calathes and Jon Leuer all scored four, but only Leuer did it efficiently, going 2-of-2.
Lee missed a lot of good looks from mid-range, shooting 3-of-8. However, he hit a huge three to put Memphis up by eight with 2:28 remaining.
Koufos botched a couple of shots in the paint, connecting on only two of his six attempts.
Udrih and Calathes were both 2-of-5. Calathes, though, was pesky defensively, and he recorded a couple of steals.
Los Angeles Clippers
Chris Paul: A+
It's a shame Chris Paul's night had to end the way it did, turning the ball over on the final possession and costing his team a chance to win the game.
However, Paul was absolutely spectacular in the loss.
The top-flight floor general poured in 30 points off 13-of-22 shooting, drilling mid-range jumpers with impunity and forcing his way to the rim.
CP3 was particularly dominant in the first half, making nine of his first 11 shots and scoring 19 points to help the Clippers go into the locker room with the lead.
Paul also added 10 assists and four rebounds to his stat line.
He just ran out of gas at the end.
DeAndre Jordan: A-
DeAndre Jordan was once again a beast on the glass, hauling in 17 rebounds, 14 of them coming on the defensive end.
He also played some great defense around the rim, blocking a couple of shots and deterring Memphis players from attempting to get shots off at the basket.
Jordan made all four of his shots to score nine points and was not forced to do much from the free-throw line, shooting only four foul shots (he made one).
J.J. Redick: D-
J.J. Redick struggled mightily.
The 2-guard could not find his shot all night, as he went only 3-of-12 from the field and missed on all four of his three-point tries, despite getting plenty of clean looks.
Redick finished with eight points and four assists.
Jamal Crawford: D
Much like Redick, Jamal Crawford did not enjoy a very good evening.
The sixth man shot only 4-of-15. He made three treys, but he went only 1-of-7 from inside the arc. He took quite a few bad shots a couple of times due to him trying to draw fouls.
Crawford was unable to score any of his 15 points in bunches, so there was no classic microwave-type performance from the guard against the Grizzlies.
Spencer Hawes: C-
Spencer Hawes was not exactly efficient Monday night.
The big man went only 4-of-12 from the floor, missing on quite a few open looks and going only 1-of-4 from downtown.
Hawes also made minimal impact on the glass, grabbing one rebound.
One positive about Hawes' performance is that he did not get pushed around by the Memphis bigs, as evidenced by his three blocks.
He scored nine points.
Rest of Team: B-
Matt Barnes was decent, totaling eight points and seven rebounds. He made a pair of threes and ran the floor very well, sticking his nose in quite a few scrums for loose balls.
Otherwise, production from the rest of the Clippers was minimal.
Glen Davis had four points and three rebounds in 12 minutes, and Hedo Turkoglu scored four points in five minutes.
Austin Rivers was brutal, going 0-of-3 with three fouls in 11 minutes.
What's Next?
The Grizzlies will trek out to Sleep Train Arena to take on the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night at 10 p.m. ET. The battle between DeMarcus Cousins and Memphis' frontcourt should be terrific.
Meanwhile, on that same night, the Clippers will head on down to the Toyota Center to match up with the Houston Rockets in a potential first-round playoff preview.
