Clippers slip past Grizzlies
Basketball Betting Lines
01/27/2012 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blake Griffin finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, leading the Clippers to a 98-91 victory over the Grizzlies at Staples Center.
Chris Paul and Mo Williams each scored 18 points, while Caron Butler netted 16 to help Los Angeles rebounded from a loss to the rival Lakers on Wednesday.
Rudy Gay had 24 points to pace the Grizzlies, who made it competitive despite being down 16 points in the first quarter. Nonetheless, Memphis fell for the second straight game on the heels of a seven-game winning streak.
There were a combined 19 lead changes and 13 ties in the second and third frames, but none in the fourth.
Los Angeles brought a tenuous 74-72 lead into the final stanza and went ahead 89-80 on DeAndre Jordan's alley-oop dunk with 4:46 remaining.
The closest the Grizzlies got from there was two, 91-89, following two Gay free throws with 79 seconds on the clock.
Butler made it a two-possession game with a driving layup, then teamed with Paul to fore a Gay turnover at the other end.
The Clippers finished off the win at the foul line.
"We couldn't get any stops down the stretch," Memphis head coach Lionel Hollins said.
Memphis trailed by as many as 16 in the first quarter, but got a lift when Gay let one fly from between the opposite three-point line and center court.
The buzzer-beating heave somehow banked in to cut the deficit to 29-17, and the Grizzlies pulled closer by scoring the first 11 points of the second quarter, which ended with the Clippers holding a slim 45-44 edge.
"We have to do a better job of not giving up the lead," Griffin said.
Game Notes
Both teams celebrated the 45th anniversary of the American Basketball Association's (ABA) founding by wearing throwback uniforms. The Clippers wore the baby-blue outfit of the Los Angeles Stars, while the Grizzlies donned the eye-catching Memphis Tams' jersey and shorts...Marc Gasol logged 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Grizzlies, who got 14 points apiece from Tony Allen and O.J. Mayo...Paul also had seven rebounds and seven helpers.
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Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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