The Los Angeles Clippers entered Wednesday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center with the best record in the NBA, but they had no answer for Mike Conley and Marc Gasol.
The tandem helped Memphis stave off every Los Angeles run and earn the 111-107 road victory. Gasol hit the game-winning three-pointer with 14 seconds remaining and scored 26 points with six assists and six rebounds. Conley led all scorers with 30 points to go along with his eight assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Conley drilled seven three-pointers, while Gasol hit four. Memphis also received 18 points and seven rebounds from Zach Randolph off the bench.
Memphis' victory snapped Los Angeles' seven-game winning streak and dropped its record to 10-2. ESPN Stats & Info noted it wasn't a great day for one-loss teams:
Despite the loss, the Clippers had an impressive duo of their own with Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick. Griffin finished with 25 points and eight rebounds, while Redick posted a team-high 29 points behind seven three-pointers. He nearly made up for his teammates' struggles from outside, as Clippers not named Redick were a mere 2-of-13 from three-point range.
Despite Los Angeles' superior record and home-court advantage, Memphis was down just two at the end of the first quarter, 28-26.
The Grizzlies were right in the game but had trouble containing Griffin. The forward scored 15 points in the opening quarter, but Memphis kept up by hitting four three-pointers. Peter Edmiston of the Commercial Appeal noted Griffin was exploiting Memphis' inability to defend the pick-and-roll, and the Clippers shared some of his early highlights:
However, the Grizzlies quickly turned that two-point deficit into a 42-32 lead with a 16-4 spurt to start the second quarter. Conley drilled two threes during that stretch and drew praise from Edmiston:
Memphis extended its lead to 61-46 by halftime thanks to a distinct advantage from behind the arc. The visitors hit seven threes in the first two quarters, while Los Angeles was a mere 1-of-9. The long-range shooting helped the Grizzlies overcome a free-throw disparity, as the Clippers were 13-of-22 while Memphis was 6-of-8.
Conley hit all six of his first-half shots on his way to 18 points, while Griffin countered with just two points in the second quarter after his impressive start.
Things got chippy early in the third when Memphis' Andrew Harrison committed a flagrant foul for pulling down Luc Mbah a Moute. JaMychal Green also picked up a technical for shoving Griffin after the Clippers forward was upset with the hard contact.
The Clippers hit three free throws and scored on the additional possession, and Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reacted to the burst that cut Memphis' lead from 16 to 11:
The energy level remained high when Harrison blocked Chris Paul on a fast-break layup, but Paul stole it back from Conley. Redick missed a three, but Paul stole it again when Conley was looking at the official.
SportsCenter passed along the block, and NBA on ESPN shared Paul's second steal:
Despite the high energy for the Clippers, Gasol and James Ennis hit back-to-back threes, and Green made a jumper to complete a 10-0 run that pushed the Grizzlies' advantage to 76-60. It looked as if Memphis survived the Clippers' run, but the home team responded and trimmed the deficit to 83-76 with a 16-7 spurt to end the third.
Los Angeles kept the momentum rolling at the start of the fourth with its bench. Raymond Felton, Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford each scored, and Memphis' lead was down to a single point at 83-82.
The teams had fun with the back-and-forth on Twitter:
The Clippers tied the game, but Conley temporarily stopped the bleeding for the Grizzlies with a three and assist. Memphis was up 97-90, but the pattern of Los Angeles comebacks continued when Griffin scored and Redick hit a three to make it 97-95.
Redick stayed red hot and drilled his sixth and seventh threes of the game, the second of which made it 101-100, Clippers. However, Conley answered right back with his seventh three, and Dan Favale of Bleacher Report reacted to the Grizzlies point guard:
Los Angeles bounced back yet again with a 6-0 run, and Paul's jumper made it 107-105 with less than 90 seconds remaining.
From there, Ennis hit a free throw, and Gasol deflected a pass right to Conley for a steal to give Memphis the ball with 23 seconds left. Gasol connected from deep and then strutted down the floor a la Conor McGregor.
Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports commented on the celebration:
Redick lost control on the ensuing possession, and Conley calmly drained two free throws to clinch the win.
What's Next?
The Clippers hit the road to face the Sacramento Kings, who were 4-7 coming into play Wednesday. While it is early in the season, the Golden State Warriors will likely rack up plenty of wins after adding Kevin Durant to a roster that won 73 games in 2015-16.
That means the Clippers must take advantage of every chance in winnable games like the one against Sacramento if they want to compete for the No. 1 seed.
As for the Grizzlies, they face the 2-8 Dallas Mavericks and 3-7 Minnesota Timberwolves in the next two games. Memphis is 6-5 after Wednesday's victory and now has an opportunity to pick up some straightforward wins and head in the right direction.
Postgame Reaction
Gasol continued his McGregor impersonation when he said, "I want to apologize…to absolutely nobody!" per Grizzlies communications and publications manager Ross Wooden.
On the other side, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders noted, "Jordan took the blame for the Gasol 3, said he wasn't supposed to help on Conley there to let Gasol have the open corner shot."
Jordan will likely keep that in mind if the game comes down to the wire again the next time these two Western Conference foes meet.