Los Angeles, CA

Zach Randolph scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Memphis Grizzlies capitalized on Blake Griffin's ankle injury to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 103-93.

Mark Gasol finished with 21 points and eight rebounds and Mike Conley added 20 points for the Grizzlies, who took a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series and will try to wrap it up Friday night at home.

In the first half, 24 fouls were called and neither team led by more than four until Gasol's three-point play gave the Grizzlies a 46-40 margin with 2:35 left.

Conley then hit an 11-foot bank shot with 1:08 left in the half and later converted two free throws to give Memphis a nine-point lead 48 seconds before intermission.

Memphis took its biggest lead, 65-52, on Conley's three-point play with 6:28 left in the third quarter. The Grizzlies opened the fourth with a 73-65 advantage.

The Clippers responded with Chris Paul's layup and Matt Barnes' fastbreak slam off a long pass by Jamal Crawford to close in at 73-69.

Randolph connected a 16-foot jumper off a Tayshaun Prince assist to push the lead to 89-80 with 4:09 left.

Prince helped wrap it up with a layup and a 3-pointer in the final minutes after the Clippers got within five on a short jumper by Crawford with 1:49 remaining.

"I thought we withstood the early barrages of energy that they had," Hollins said. "In the second quarter, we set the tone of the game with our defense, and we played with that the rest of the game. After Marc got his fifth foul, Zach took over and carried us with his big plays, and Prince hit a couple of big shots."

Paul led Los Angeles with 35 points, tying a career playoff high.

Griffin suffered the injury when he stepped on Lamar Odom's foot during Monday's practice.

Once the game started, Griffin ignored the ankle issue and attacked the Grizzlies in the same reckless manner that has been his trademark since he came into the league. But he played only 20 minutes -- six in the second half -- and finished with four points, five rebounds and five assists.

 

 

 

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Grizzlies Push Clippers to Brink of Elimination