Trans. Apr 20 11:10 ET (Apr 20 11:10 ET ) Los Angeles Clippers 112, Memphis 91; Los Angeles leads the series, 1-0
It didn’t quite vault them back to the top-ten level we were used to seeing from Los Angeles when they raced out to that stellar first half of the season, and the presence of the offensively-lacking Memphis Grizzlies admittedly did play a part, but it was fun to see the Clippers ramp up their activity and pressure on the defensive end in the second half of this solid Game 1 win.
This attention to detail on that end, mixed with a surprisingly poor defensive first half from Memphis and plenty of run out and delayed transition opportunities for the Clippers in the second half, led to a final 21-point deficit in a game that didn’t really feel like a blowout until late. Blake Griffin (3-9 shooting, six fouls in an injury-plagued performance) continued his dodgy play against the Grizzlies, but Los Angeles’ backcourt dominated Memphis’ Mike Conley and Jerryd Bayless even at their most spirited.
In about 50 minutes of combined action, Chris Paul and Eric Bledsoe put up 38 points on 14-18 shooting, with eight rebounds, 11 assists, and just two turnovers against the West’s best defensive team. Jamal Crawford nailed a four-point play in the first half (the 38th of his career), Caron Butler hit some opportunistic jumpers, and the Grizzlies just couldn’t score enough points to keep up.
Butler scored 18 of his 22 points in the third quarter, and the Los Angeles Clippers routed the Portland Trail Blazers 93-77 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory.
The Scoop:Bother by a sore knee, Butler totaled two points in the previous two games.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Caron Butler scored 18 of his 22 points in the third quarter, and the Los Angeles Clippers routed the Portland Trail Blazers 93-77 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory.
Butler is out for the second half of Saturday night's game with the Memphis Grizzlies with a sore right knee.
The Scoop:Butler played only 9 minutes, 2 seconds of the first half. He missed both shots he attempted and had one rebound with two steals. The Clippers came into the game trailing Memphis by a game for home-court advantage in the playoffs with two games remaining after Saturday night. Butler averages 10.4 points per game for Los Angeles.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Clippers forward Caron Butler is out for the second half of Saturday night's game with the Memphis Grizzlies with a sore right knee.
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