Desmond Bane poured in 27 points and the Memphis Grizzlies held off a feverish rally from the host Los Angeles Clippers to pick up a 105-101 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Memphis took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter, but the Clippers stormed back, tying things at 84-84 when Paul George canned a 3-pointer with 6:38 left.
The teams then traded punches and found themselves deadlocked at 98-all with 1:33 to go after James Harden connected from beyond the arc. But three free throws and a David Roddy layup gave the Grizzlies a five-point edge that they hung on to down the stretch.
Bane made 10 of 24 shots and added six assists for Memphis, which won for just the second time this season.
Bismack Biyombo had a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double as the Grizzlies shot 42 percent from the field. Marcus Smart supplied 17 points and seven assists.
George had a team-high 26 points for Los Angeles, which fell to 0-4 with Harden, who totaled 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Norman Powell notched 20 points off the bench.
The Clippers made 37 of 85 shots (43.5 percent).
Bane scored six points in the final 1:22 of the first half to help send Memphis into the break up 52-45.
Bane paced the Grizzlies with 11 first-half points, while George led all scorers with 12.
Memphis built a 14-point cushion with a 7-0 spurt to open the second half. George stopped the bleeding with a jumper and Kawhi Leonard canned a trey to cut the Clippers’ deficit to nine, but that’s the closest they would get for the remainder of the third quarter.
The Grizzlies took a 79-68 lead into the fourth.
Jacob Gilyard and Smart each hit a pair of 3-pointers during a game-opening 19-7 run for Memphis, which led 33-20 after 12 minutes of action.
It was Los Angeles that got off to a hot start in the second, scoring 19 of the first 22 points of the quarter to move in front at 39-36. George netted all 12 of his first-half points during the outburst.
–Field Level Media
