LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Zach Randolph had 26
points and 15 rebounds against his former team, and the Memphis
Grizzlies overcame the first-quarter ejection of shooting guard Tony
Allen to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 106-102 on Monday night in a
rematch of their first-round playoff series.
Marc Gasol had 23 points, nine rebounds
and eight assists to help put the Grizzlies (6-5) over .500 for the
first time this season. Mike Conley scored eight of his 15 points during
a 4-minute span of the fourth quarter.
Blake Griffin had 23 points and 11
rebounds for the Clippers. Paul had 18 points and 11 assists for his 11
straight double-double, the most by any player from the start of a
season since Magic Johnson in 1990-91.
Allen was charged with a flagrant-2 foul
with 1:51 left in the opening quarter after he lifted his left leg in a
vain attempt to impede Paul's drive to the basket and kicked him in the
face. Allen walked over to Paul at the foul line to apologize while
referees Bill Kennedy, Mark Ayotte and John Goble watched the replay at
the official scorer's table to determine the severity of the foul.
Playing in front of their 100th
consecutive sellout crowd, including the postseason, the Clippers
trailed 90-83 with 8:20 remaining after Memphis opened the fourth
quarter with a 9-2 run. They got as close as 90-88 on a 16-footer by
Paul, but the Grizzlies extended their margin to 101-91 with an 11-3 run
capped by Conley's jumper with 1:51 to play.
Randolph paced Memphis to a 52-51
halftime lead with 16 points and eight rebounds. The Clippers, who
trailed 25-13 at the time of Allen's ejection, closed to 39-35 midway
through the second period with a 9-2 spurt before reserve forward Matt
Barnes was scratched near his left eye by Randolph as the Grizzlies
forward was being double-teamed by Barnes and Griffin down on the block.
Barnes was charged with a foul before
going to the dressing room, and didn't report back in until 3:25
remained in the third quarter with the Clippers down 74-71. His two free
throws put them ahead 78-76 with 1:14 left in the period, and the
Grizzlies responded with a 19-footer by Randolph and a 3-pointer by Mike
Miller before Clippers guard Darren Collison beat the buzzer with a
3-pointer of his own to tie it at 81.
The Grizzlies won the final four games
of their first-round playoff semifinal series against the Clippers last
spring after dropping the first two at Los Angeles, then got swept by
San Antonio in the Western Conference finals. The previous season, the
Clippers beat Memphis in seven games during the opening round, winning
the deciding game on the road before getting swept by the Spurs in the
conference semis.
NOTES:
The Grizzlies are 5-0 when Randolph leads them in scoring. ... Paul's
longest overall double-double streak in the NBA is 12 games. ... The
Clippers have used the same starting lineup through the first 11 games
of a season for the first time since 2004-05, when coach Mike Dunleavy
kept his starting five of Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Marko Jaric,
Bobby Simmons and Chris Wilcox intact for the first 13 games. ...
Griffin, who had a season-high 30 points on Saturday against the Nets,
was named Western Conference player of the week for the second time in
his career. He averaged 25.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists,
helping the Clippers go 3-0. ... It was Griffin's 98th game with at
least 20 points and 10 rebounds since the start of the 2010-11 season,
tying Minnesota's Kevin Love for the most during that stretch.
