National Basketball Association
Memphis 90, L.A. Clippers 88
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, May 11, 2012
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials:
#43 Dan Crawford, #8 Marc Davis, #23 Jason Phillips
Attendance:
19060
By SportsDirect Inc.
Grizzlies 90, Clippers 88: Marc Gasol had 23 points and nine rebounds as visiting Memphis erased an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit to force a deciding Game 7.
Zach Randolph added 18 points and 16 rebounds and Mike Conley and Rudy Gay had 13 points apiece as the Grizzlies staved off elimination for a second straight game.
Game 7 will be played Sunday afternoon in Memphis.
Clippers stars Blake Griffin (knee) and Chris Paul (hip), who were both game-time decisions with injuries sustained in Game 6, scored 17 and 11 points, respectively.
After watching Los Angeles dominate the fourth quarter throughout the series, including storming back from a 24-point deficit to win Game 1, the Grizzlies turned the tables on the Clippers.
Reserve Eric Bledsoe scored six points in a 10-0 spurt early in the fourth to help Los Angeles build a 76-68 lead. The Grizzlies responded with a 10-0 spurt of their own to go ahead on Gay's three-point play with 6:28 remaining.
Conley's 3-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes to go put Memphis ahead for good and Randolph's tip-in extended the lead to 85-80. Los Angeles got no closer than four points until Randy Foye's 3-pointer with three seconds left decided the final margin.
Trailing 60-54, the Clippers ran off six straight points to tie the score and the teams entered the fourth deadlocked at 66.
Memphis used an 18-6 run to take a 25-16 lead after one quarter and maintained a nine-point edge before the Clippers rallied.
Reserve Kenyon Martin scored six straight points and Paul buried a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one, but a three-point play by Gasol made it 42-38 at halftime.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Only eight teams in NBA history have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a seven-game series. ... Bledsoe scored 14 points and Kenyon Martin had 10 as Los Angeles got 34 points from its bench. ... Gasol had his second straight 23-point game after averaging only nine points in the previous three contests.
Top Game Performances
Memphis |
|
L.A. Clippers |
Marc Gasol 23 |
Scoring |
Blake Griffin 17 |
Mike Conley 9 |
Assists |
Chris Paul 7 |
Zach Randolph 16 |
Rebounds |
Reggie Evans 10 |
Marc Gasol 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Blake Griffin 5 |
Tony Allen 2 |
Steals |
Blake Griffin 3 |
Zach Randolph 3 |
Blocks |
Reggie Evans 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Memphis
|
90 |
45.5 |
3-10 |
17-27 |
20 |
48 |
9 |
5 |
22 |
L.A. Clippers
|
88 |
43.0 |
4-15 |
16-25 |
21 |
32 |
6 |
13 |
7 |
Upcoming Games
-
L.A. Clippers will play their next game on the road against Memphis. The Clippers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
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Memphis will play their next game at home against L.A. Clippers. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.