Clippers use big 2nd half to race past Grizzlies for 5th straight win
INGLEWOOD — This wasn’t as much fun.
In the Clippers’ victory against one of the NBA’s best teams earlier in the week, they were healthy, locked in and more importantly having fun.
You could sense it in the way Kawhi Leonard scored, how James Harden did his thing, the times when Ivica Zubac dominated inside against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the rest of the team reacted on the bench that night.
“One of the things that we’ve emphasized is finding joy in the game. We want to continue that. We want ’em to have fun,” assistant coach Brian Shaw said.
Finding that kind of joy against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night was a bit more difficult. This game had more of a business-like feel, the team taking on a more serious approach in facing another high-level Western Conference foe.
But seriousness turned to fun following halftime as the Clippers scored 68 points in the second half on their way to a 128-108 victory at the Intuit Dome, their fifth straight and eighth in nine games.
James Harden finished with 30 points and nine assists and Kawhi Leonard added 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting and 10 rebounds as six Clippers scored in double figures.
“(Having fun) is the most important thing. If you don’t have joy for yourself and for each other, it’s not going to work and that’s what we have been communicating and talking about,” said Harden, who shot 8 for 14 from the field (5 for 10 from 3-point range) and made nine of his 10 free throws. “You can see our swagger is different for sure.”
Their new-found bounce comes from inching up in the standings. The Clippers (40-30) are in seventh place in the West, a few percentage points ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves (41-31) and one game behind the red-hot Golden State Warriors (41-29) as they try to climb into the top six and avoid the Play-In Tournament (seeds 7-10).
“We can’t control what anybody else is doing so we have to control what we are doing as best as possible,” Shaw said. “Everybody else keeps winning that we are jockeying with, trying to get to that No. 6 spot so we have to keep winning, too.
“We’re just finding a way.”
The Clippers took charge of the game in the third quarter, opening the period on a 19-5 run and outscoring the fifth-place Grizzlies (43-28) by 36-16 to take a 96-82 lead into the fourth. Harden scored 12 points in the third and the Clippers cruised to victory from there, improving to 3-0 against Memphis this season.
Shaw, who has coached six games in Tyronn Lue’s absence, said the key to beating the top teams is simple.
“If we are just emphasizing and focusing, taking care of what we do and imposing our will on the other team and just staying focused on that as opposed to what anybody else is doing,” said Shaw, who has guided the team to a 5-1 record.
Lue continues to be bothered by a sore back and his status for Sunday’s home game against league-leading Oklahoma City (58-12) is unclear. He has improved, according to team officials, but he stayed home Friday.
Like their victory over the Cavaliers, nearly everyone who played had a hand in this win.
Zubac had another double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 16 points and five assists while shooting 4 for 5 from 3-point range.
In his third game back from a hamstring injury, Norman Powell scored 14 points and had three rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Kris Dunn contributed 11 points.
The Clippers struggled to garner much traction early against the Grizzlies, who led by as many as eight in the first half. Memphis went on a 9-4 run to take a 66-60 lead into intermission.
“The first half wasn’t pretty, it was a chess game going on,” Shaw said. “They didn’t start (Zach) Edey and then every time we took Zu out they came in with him and Jaren Jackson (Jr.) or him and (Jay) Huff and they stayed big when we had our small (lineup), so I didn’t want to tip my hand too early.
“So, in the first half I said, well, I just feel it out and keep seeing how they’re attacking us with their two bigs.”
The gamble paid off. Shaw started Bogdanovic instead of Dunn to begin the second half and that enabled them to cut down their turnovers after allowing Memphis to score 21 points off eight turnovers before halftime.
Memphis made a surge at the end of the first half. With the score tied at 53-all, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Santi Aldama drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to get Memphis rolling. Leonard answered with a pull up jumper, but Pippen buried another 3-pointer to give the Grizzlies a 62-55 lead with 1:07 left in the half.
After Leonard completed a three-point play, the Grizzlies scored two quick baskets to extend their lead to 66-58. A pair of free throws by Harden closed out the half.
Jackson scored 23 points to lead the Grizzlies, who lost their third straight. Aldama finished with 16 points and Luke Kennard and Pippen each had 15 points.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant, who has been averaging 22.3 points and 4.1 rebounds. missed his fourth consecutive game while dealing with a hamstring injury. Memphis also was without Brandon Clarke, who left Wednesday’s loss because of a right knee injury.