No one thought Caron Butler would play again during the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Butler broke a bone in his left hand during Game 1 of the series between the Clippers and the Grizzlies. Shortly after, the Clippers issued a release saying Butler would miss the next four weeks at a minimum.
But Saturday morning before the Clippers' 87-86 win over Memphis, Butler was on the court sinking jumper after jumper, and when it came time for the starting lineups to be announced, Butler heard his name called.
Playing with a pad on the outside of his left hand and a brace over his pinky finger, Butler played 22 unremarkable minutes.
But more than his four points or three rebounds, Butler served as an inspiration to his teammates.
"It would have been so easy for (Butler) to say, 'I'm done, and I'm going to take care of my hand. I'll be ready for next year,'" Clippers guard Chris Paul said. "That's one thing (Vinny Del Negro) said, if he can fight with one broken hand, what can the rest of us do?"
NOTES, QUOTES
Free-throw woes nearly cost Clippers
--Poor free-throw shooting has cost the Clippers a number of games this season, and Saturday, they were lucky it didn't cost them the lead in their series with the Grizzlies.
The Clippers made just 43.3 percent of their free throws (13-30) while Memphis hit 30 of 39 from the stripe in the Clippers' 87-86 win in Game 3.
The poor shooting from the line was magnified in the final 13 seconds of the game, when the Clippers missed five free throws, including three by Eric Bledsoe, opening the door for Memphis.
Rudy Gay closed the gap twice, hitting two contested 3-point shots late, getting the Grizzlies within one before Bledsoe missed a pair from the line.
Gay couldn't complete the late comeback, as his game-winner rolled out as time expired.
"You could definitely say I was relieved," Bledsoe said.
--Clippers fans were given red t-shirts on their way into Staples Arena that read "Clipper Nation All In." Saturday was the first playoff game the Clippers have hosted since 2006.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "The main key wasn't on the stat sheet. We just continued to fight." -- Clippers G Randy Foye, on the team's resolve Saturday against the Grizzlies.
ROSTER REPORT
PLAYER NOTES:
--F Blake Griffin battled with Memphis F Zach Randolph on every trip to the block while the two were in the game together. Griffin made just three of nine shots from the foul line, but he still managed to score 17 points in the Clippers' win.
--F Reggie Evans talked about the Clippers getting "punked" in Game 2 Friday at practice, and Saturday, he made sure it didn't happen twice. In just 24 minutes, Evans grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to go with a pair of steals and four points.
--G Randy Foye made four of his five shots from beyond the 3-point line Saturday. Foye scored 16 points, including a trey to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
--G Chris Paul turned the ball over five times, but otherwise, he was incredibly efficient on the offensive end. Paul led the Clippers with 29 points on only 17 shots.
