Clippers-Grizzlies Preview

By TERESA M. WALKER
Posted May 08 2012 7:45PM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) The stunned and battered Memphis Grizzlies had legitimate hopes of going farther in the NBA playoffs than a year ago when they fell to Oklahoma City in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals is a distant memory.

Now with their egos bruised, they're just focused on avoiding elimination in the first round by the Los Angeles Clippers.

Memphis hosts the Clippers on Wednesday night in Game 5 still trying to figure out how to stop Chris Paul and hoping to force Game 6. It's been every bit the rugged series expected with two games decided by one point and Monday night's 101-97 win by Los Angeles in overtime.

Guard Mike Conley said the Grizzlies have to treat this as the last game.

"It could be the last game for us," Conley said. "We've got to give everything we got regardless if guys are happy, if guys are not. You have got to play for one another and understand that winning is all that matters at this point. It doesn't matter how we do it. It doesn't matter who steps up or who doesn't. We have to win."

The Clippers are on the verge of something special and very rare for the franchise. The Clippers beat Denver in the first round in 2006, and one more win clinches only their second playoff series since the Buffalo Braves relocated to California. Paul has plenty of playoff experience while with New Orleans and knows well what his current teammates face now.

"The close-out game is the toughest one, especially in their place," Paul said.

"I'm sure they're excited to be going back home, and we've showed the ability to win there. So we need to come out ready to play because it's going to be a difficult game there too obviously with the crowd behind them. We got down early (Monday night), and our crowd's energy got us back into it. It's not going to be that way on the road."

The Grizzlies had less than 1,000 tickets available Tuesday night with the mantra "Believe Memphis" applies not just to the team but the entire town.

Still, with Paul and Griffin leading the way, the Clippers are a confident group.

"We have to take it one game at a time and understand that if we go down there and we play our game and play together, we're going to have a great chance to close them out," Clippers guard Randy Foye said.

Both teams took Tuesday off, flying from Los Angeles to Memphis.

This series has been a battle royale so far with the Clippers picking up seven technical fouls and the Grizzlies six. Blake Griffin estimates he's racked up 5 1/2 fouls per game and said he knows he must do better. Grizzlies guard Tony Allen says the Clippers deserve credit for "pretty much manhandling" the series going up 3-1.

Paul has been a key, scoring eight of his 27 points in overtime Monday night. Paul also got to the line where he hit all six of his free throws.

Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said Tuesday he used the wrong word after Monday night's loss in saying that Paul flops when the All-Star guard is simply too good at creating fouls. The Memphis coach wants his Grizzlies to be smarter, stay poised and avoid confrontations that result in technical fouls.

"We don't need to be macho in those situations," Hollins said. "We need to go out and play and be macho and get the ball off the glass and get the ball in the post and get the ball up the court and defend."

The Grizzlies were 3-1 a year ago in their opening series, lost Game 5 and returned to Memphis where they closed out the series and advanced.

But Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol dominated last postseason, taking control of the paint. In this series, the Clippers have been so physical that Gasol has had few, if any, points, late in games while Randolph often finds himself taking shots from outside late. Gasol averaged a double-double last postseason, but the All-Star center has had only one this series.

"Even when we've gotten the ball inside, there's not a lot of space to operate," Hollins said. "They just decide that they're going to come and try to take the ball out of their hands and make us beat them from the outside. And we haven't been able to do that consistently."

Only eight NBA teams have rallied to win a series trailing 3-1 with Phoenix over the Lakers in 2006 the last. Hollins was with Philadelphia when Boston rallied over the 76ers in the 1981 Eastern Conference finals. Hollins dismissed any talk of history.

"We have to win one game, that's the game here at home before us and that's basically all we can worry about," Hollins said.

Grizzlies avoid elimination, beat Clippers 92-80

By TERESA M. WALKER
Posted May 10 2012 4:27AM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) The Memphis Grizzlies have the Los Angeles Clippers frustrated and hurting.

Blake Griffin sprained his left knee, Chris Paul went to the Clippers' bench with a sore right hip and another late comeback fizzled against a Memphis team that got back to its bruising, grinding style to stave off elimination with a 92-80 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday night.

Game 6 in the first-round Western Conference series is in Los Angeles on Friday night. If needed, Game 7 will be Sunday in Memphis.

"There's no point leaving home if we don't know our way back," Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo said. "We can't look at Sunday because we have to make sure we get back home after Friday night."

The physical pounding is starting to take a toll on the Clippers. Coach Vinny Del Negro said Griffin and Paul were being evaluated after the game.

"We've got to get home, get some therapy, get rest and then get back to work on Friday," Del Negro said.

During the game, the Clippers' team doctor and trainer told Del Negro that Griffin and Paul could return in the fourth quarter. But once Paul started hobbling, Del Negro took him out.

Memphis returns to Los Angeles having lost both regular-season games to the Clippers at the Staples Center along with the first two playoff games there. But the Grizzlies are confident, believing they should have won Game 3, an 87-86 loss, and Game 4, which went to overtime.

"We have to go back to L.A. and win that game," Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph said. "That's what it is ... We have to get our rest tonight and tomorrow and be ready Friday."

Marc Gasol scored 23 points and Randolph added 19 as the Grizzlies got back to the inside-out style that helped them knock off top-seeded San Antonio in the first round last spring and push Oklahoma City to seven games in the semifinals.

Rudy Gay added 14 points for Memphis.

Mo Williams had 20 points for the Clippers, while Paul scored 19 and Griffin had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Paul and Griffin both missed time in the fourth quarter with the injuries.

"Our Game 7's Friday," Williams said.

Memphis pounded the ball into the paint and banged on the Clippers all night. The Grizzlies outscored Los Angeles 48-26 in the paint and had a 42-35 edge in rebounds. The Clippers expected the Grizzlies to do just that and couldn't stop them.

"They got a lot of easy post touches at the beginning of the game," Clippers center DeAndre Jordan said. "Throughout, a lot of their shots were contested, but once you get a groove and get comfortable, the shots become comfortable."

Gasol, an All-Star this season for the first time in his career, turned in his best game yet in this series after talking with Memphis coach Lionel Hollins and Randolph about being more aggressive.

"We've had our backs against the wall. We still have them," Gasol said. "We haven't done anything yet, and we want to take it back to L.A. and give them another big battle."

The Clippers came in needing a win to clinch their first series since 2006 and advance to a second-round series against top-seeded San Antonio. While Paul has plenty of postseason experience, this was the first close-out game for the likes of Griffin, Randy Foye and Jordan.

Griffin hurt his knee when he tangled legs with Gasol on a drive to the basket in the third quarter. Griffin stayed on the court for a few minutes before going to the bench. But he returned to attempt his free throws and played most of the fourth quarter.

"One of our guys went down," said Clippers forward Caron Butler, who's playing despite breaking his left hand in Game 1. "Not just one of our guys, one of our superstars. It's important that we go down and check on our brother. He got up. It was a tough play. He got banged up pretty bad. But he's a soldier. He got back out there and kept chipping away at it with us."

Los Angeles last led at 17-16 before a fastbreak layup by Tony Allen that was set up by a long pass from Gasol put Memphis ahead to stay at 18-17 with 5:40 left in the first quarter.

"We've got to do a better job keeping our composure a little bit," Del Negro said.

The Clippers closed the third quarter with a 14-2 run and got within six twice to conjure up memories of Game 1, when Memphis blew a 27-point lead. Foye pulled the Clippers within 85-79 on a layup with 55.7 seconds left.

"You could hear the crowd getting quieter and quieter," Foye said.

With CP3 on the bench, that was as close as they would get.

"We made enough plays and got enough stops tonight that kept us ahead," Hollins said. "In the past, they kept making shots, and we haven't been able to stop them. So even though our offense wasn't perfect, we got enough stops."

Hollins didn't give his Grizzlies any credit for slowing Paul.

"I thought he did a good job of containing himself when he got hurt and went to the bench," Hollins said.

Notes: Randolph hit his first six shots, while Gasol was 6 of 8 in the first quarter. ... Memphis tied a franchise playoff record with 36 points in the first quarter. The Grizzlies set that mark May 1, 2005, in Game 4 against Phoenix. Memphis lost that game and series in a sweep. ... Memphis held Los Angeles to 37.1 percent shooting. ... Griffin had just five points in the second half on four shots.

Notebook: Grizzlies 92, Clippers 80

Posted Thursday May 10, 2012 1:45AM

By Marlon W. Morgan, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Playing like a team desperate to stay alive, the Memphis Grizzlies jumped out to a 24-point second half lead as they did in Game 1. However, when the Clippers made a run at the end of the third quarter, the Grizzlies made sure there would be no collapse, using a 7-1 run in the final minute 44 seconds to win Game 5, 92-80, Wednesday night at FedExForum. The Clippers, holding a 3-2 advantage in the best of seven series, will try to close out the Grizzlies at home Friday in the Staples Center.

QUOTABLE: "He was pretty upset with himself from last game. I knew today he was going to come out and be aggressive. He showed up and showed out today, so we just need that same performance."
-- Grizzlies guard Tony Allen on teammate Marc Gasol.

THE STAT: The Grizzlies returned to what they do best in the first half, going to their post players -- Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. The duo that led the Grizzlies in last year's playoff run combined to make 14-for-18 shots in the first half, good for 33 points to lead the Grizzlies to a 57-42 halftime lead.

TURNING POINT: The Clippers were down 75-51 with 3:02 left in the third quarter when they used a 14-2 run to end the quarter. But Blake Griffin twisted his knee with 1:31 left in the quarter and point guard Chris Paul tweaked his injured groin, leaving both players hampered in the fourth quarter. That led coach Vinny Del Negro to eventually pull both players in the fourth quarter.

HOT: Gasol has seen both his scoring and rebounding numbers dip in the playoffs. With the Grizzlies' season on the line, the 7-footer answered the call with his best game of the series, scoring 23 points and hauling in seven rebounds.

NOT: One of the reasons the Clippers couldn't complete their comeback this time is because shots simply weren't falling. They were held to 37 percent shooting, and missed 17 of their 24 3-point attempts.

QUOTABLE II: "We fought for home court advantage. We want to take full advantage of it. Our Game 7 is Friday."
-- Clippers guard Mo Williams.

NOTABLE: Del Negro said Griffin and Paul would get treatment when the return to Los Angeles. Expect both to be back in the lineup for Game 6 on Friday. Griffin finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 39 minutes, 14 seconds, while Paul had 19 points and six boards in 39:37. ... Randolph also had his best game of the series, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in nearly 37 minutes of action. On the other hand, Rudy Gay struggled with his shot most of the night, scoring 14 points on 6 of 14 shooting. ... L.A. guard Mo Williams scored nine of his team-high 20 points in the fourth quarter. .... The Grizzlies were 0-for-6 from 3-point range, but converted on 28-for-34 (82.4 percent) free-throw attempts. They also outscored the Clippers 48-26 in points in the paint. ... The Clippers lost their composure in the third quarter when they were called four of their five technical fouls. The Grizzlies had just one.

UP NEXT: Game 6 Friday in Los Angeles.

• Clippers: Billups, Leslie
• Grizzlies: Arthur, Pargo

• Clippers: Bledsoe, Butler, Del Negro, Paul, Williams
• Grizzlies: Gasol

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
• Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #48 Scott Foster, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 18119
• Duration: 2:45