^UPDATE: Clippers oust Grizzlies, win just their 3rd playoff series in 41 years

[Reg]

4 Memphis Grizzlies (41-25)

vs
5 Los Angeles Clippers (40-26)

Regular Season Series: Los Angeles wins 2 - 1
Jan 26: at Los Angeles 98, Memphis 91
Mar 24: at Los Angeles 101, Memphis 85
Apr 9: at Memphis 94, Los Angeles 85

[mrtxstar]

I actually think the Clips will win this series but I'm picking the Grizz because I want that matchup in the 2nd round with the Spurs. Payback is a bitch.

[Reg]

AP

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Chris Paul hit a pair of free throws with 23.7 seconds left, and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from 27 down to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 99-98 Sunday night in the opening game of the Western Conference series.

The Clippers tied the NBA playoff record for largest deficit overcome at the end of three quarters, when they trailed by 21.

Rudy Gay missed a 15-footer with 0.9 seconds left after the Grizzlies squandered a lead they held for the first 47 minutes.

The Clippers lost Caron Butler to a broken left hand. But Nick Young scored 19 points off the bench, including three 3-pointers in the midst of the Clippers' 26-1 run. Paul finished with 14 points while playing a team-high 38 minutes despite a groin injury that kept him out of the regular season finale against the Knicks. Blake Griffin had 17 and Butler 12 before leaving the game.

Gay finished with 19 for Memphis. Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo had 17, and Marc Gasol scored 14.

Game 2 is Wednesday night.

[mrtxstar]

The killer instinct was absent from the Grizz and they paid the price for it down the stetch. Hopefully they learned a valuable lesson that will make them better in the long run... never get complacent or you'll get beat.

Congrats to the Clippers for not giving up. Stealing this game may be the break they needed to win the series.

[Reg]

AP

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- O.J. Mayo scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, and the Memphis Grizzlies bounced back to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 105-98 on Wednesday night.

The Grizzlies blew a 27-point lead in losing Game 1 on Sunday night and letting the Clippers grab home-court advantage in the best-of-seven, first-round Western Conference series. They got back to their physical style and evened the series.

Game 3 is Saturday in Los Angeles.

Rudy Gay also scored 21 points as Memphis showed off its depth with six players reaching double figures. Mike Conley had 19, Zach Randolph 15, Marreese Speights 11 and Tony Allen 10.

All-Star guard Chris Paul led the Clippers with 29 points. Blake Griffin had 22, and Mo Williams and Nick Young 11 apiece.

The Grizzlies had the lead going into the fourth quarter for a second straight game. This time, the Clippers got no closer than four.

[Reg]

AP

LOS ANGELES -- Chris Paul had 24 points and 11 assists and high-flying Blake Griffin added 17 points for the Los Angeles Clippers, who beat the Memphis Grizzles 87-86 Saturday only after Rudy Gay missed a jumper just before the buzzer.

The Clippers won their first home playoff game in six seasons to take a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference playoffs.

Paul hit a fadeaway jumper with 2:02 left for an 82-80 lead. On the next possession he had a no-look bounce pass to Griffin coming in off the baseline for a monster slam.

Trailing 86-80 after two free throws by Paul, Gay hit a 3-pointer with 12.9 seconds left, Memphis' first field goal since 7:10. After Los Angeles missed three of four free throws, Gay hit another 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds.

Eric Bledsoe missed two more free throws, Gay got a good look but missed. Gay finished with 24 points.

[Reg]

LOS ANGELES (AP) Chris Paul scored eight of his 27 points in a dynamic overtime performance, and the Los Angeles Clippers moved to the brink of their second playoff series victory in 36 years with a 101-97 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, taking a 3-1 series lead.

Blake Griffin had 30 points and seven assists before fouling out with 2:26 left in overtime for the Clippers, who blew a 10-point lead in the final 4 1/2 minutes of regulation before their All-Star point guard took charge in the overtime.

Mike Conley scored a career playoff-high 25 points and Rudy Gay had 23 on 8-of-25 shooting for the Grizzlies, who couldn't match Paul's late-game poise in another thrilling chapter of a highly entertaining series.

Game 5 is Wednesday night in Memphis, with Game 6 back at Staples Center on Friday if necessary.

[Reg]

By Kevin Arnovitz | ESPN.com

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin sprained his left knee, while guard Chris Paul suffered a strained right hip flexor and jammed the middle finger on his right hand in the Clippers' 92-80 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

Griffin went down after a hard foul from Grizzlies center Marc Gasol with 1:31 remaining in the third quarter of Game 5 of the Western Conference first-round series and the Clippers trailing 75-58. Griffin lay on the ground for a few moments, grasping his left knee while surrounded by his teammates, coaches and team trainers.

"It was just kind of a weird play," Griffin said. "My foot got caught under me, and I kind of came down wrong. It was scary at first."

Griffin stayed in the game to shoot his free throws and for the remainder of the quarter before being treated on the bench at the start of the fourth quarter.

"Our chiropractor did some stuff and it felt a little better, but then as I was out there more -- I don't want to say it got worse and worse, but it started to stiffen up," Griffin said. "The good thing is there's not much swelling." Griffin checked back into the game at 8:56 mark of the fourth quarter and was able to play the rest of the game until the closing seconds. He finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 39 minutes.

In October 2009, Griffin broke his patella on the same knee and was lost for the 2009-10 regular season. He described this incident as a different sensation, although one that felt serious when he landed.

"I'd never felt that before," Griffin said. "The pain scares you the most, not because it hurts, but because you don't know what's wrong."

He will undergo an MRI on Thursday.

Paul jammed the middle finger on his right hand in the first quarter before straining his right hip flexor in the fourth.

"I felt a little sharp pain in my leg," Paul said. "I'll be all right."

Paul held his midsection for several possessions in the final minutes of the game before checking out with 1:24 remaining and the Clippers trailing by eight.

"I was trying to go, but I couldn't," Paul said. "I wanted to, tried to."

Paul also will be evaluated Thursday.

Game 6 between Los Angeles and Memphis is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET Friday on ESPN. The Clippers lead the best-of-seven series 3-2.