MEMPHIS, Tenn., Feb. 25 (Ticker) -- Elton Brand had 27 points and a career-high 23 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers held off the Memphis Grizzlies, 90-77, for just their fourth win in the last 11 games.

An All-Star for the first time this season, Brand had his 38th double-double by halftime with 16 points and 13 rebounds. His dominance inside allowed the Clippers to take a 46-29 lead after 24 minutes.

Brand shot 10-of-12 from the field and the two shots he missed were easy tip-ins. Brand also became the first player in franchise history to grab 20 rebounds in consecutive games.

NBATV highlights from Clippers-Grizzlies: 56k | 300k Elton Brand splits the Grizzlies defense for two of his 27 points. Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images

Brand has 883 offensive rebounds, the most of any player since 1999.

But Los Angeles nearly let the game slip away in the third quarter as Memphis went on a 21-7 run over the first seven minutes.

"In the third quarter, they were getting a lot of second and even third chance opportunities, which really hurt us," Brand said.

In the third quarter, Memphis shot 64 percent (14-of-22) and trailed just 68-62 after 36 minutes.

But the Grizzlies went cold from the field, making just 1-of-11 shots to open the final quarter. While Memphis was struggling, Los Angeles' Jeff McInnis took over, scoring nine of his 19 points.

McInnis converted three foul shots and Sean Rooks made two jumpers that gave the Clippers a 75-64 edge with 8:09 left.

The Grizzlies hung around and were within 75-68 following a layup by rookie Pau Gasol with 5:08 to play. But McInnis and Darius Miles countered with jumpers that pushed the lead back to double digits.

"It was an ugly, crazy game," McInnis said. "But we won. We've got 24 or 25 more games left and we're going to take every game one game at a time. We threw a game here last time that we should have won."

In their last visit to the Pyramid on January 28, the Clippers blew a 12-point halftime lead and lost 119-115 in overtime.

According to Los Angeles coach Alvin Gentry, the key was changing his team's defensive strategy, which helped keep the Grizzlies on the perimeter in the second half.

"They (the Grizzlies) went in and made an adjustment at the half and started running high-low," Gentry said. "We had to change our defense a little bit. We got back behind the post and tried to make the guys in the post throw the ball back out because they were doing a good job of getting inside us and laying it in the basket."

The Grizzlies dressed just eight players and were led by Gasol, who had 21 points. Eddie Gill added 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

Gasol and Gill were the only offensive threats for Memphis in the fourth quarter, scoring five points apiece. But for the second consecutive game, the Grizzlies went cold in the final period and fell to an NBA-worst 9-18 at home.

Starting point guard Jason Williams was sidelined with a foot injury, his backup Brevin Knight was hobbled by an ankle injury, while forward Grant Long missed the game with a strained groin.

The final player, Rodney Buford served the final game of his five-game NBA suspension for violating the drug policy.

"I thought it was a good effort for the most part from our guys," Memphis coach Sidney Lowe said. "Some of this is due to fatigue, some due to injury. I know Shane (Battier) is tired. He plays a lot of minutes and we don't have anyone to go in for him. This really puts a strain on Shane and Pau to play."

With the win, the Clippers (28-30) moved three games behind idle Seattle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.