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Clippers beat Grizzlies in Game 7, advance to 2nd round

chris paul

The Los Angeles Clippers refused to let a third chance to knock the Memphis Grizzlies out of the playoffs slip away.

Kenyon Martin scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, and the Clippers advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with an 82-72 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 7 on Sunday…

The Clippers blew an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter Friday night. So Martin huddled the Clippers together at the start of the fourth quarter Sunday, and the veteran led the bench in outscoring the Grizzlies 25-16. Chris Paul had the only bucket by a starter in the final 12 minutes, and the Clippers’ bench outscored the Memphis reserves 41-11 overall…

Now, the Clippers have their third postseason series win in 41 years and their second since relocating to Los Angeles. They last beat Denver in 2006. The Clippers also avoided becoming the ninth NBA team to blow a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series in moving on to play the top-seeded Spurs starting Tuesday night in San Antonio…

Paul scored 19 points despite playing with a strained right hip flexor. Nick Young had nine of his 13 off the bench in the fourth as the Clippers finished off the series with their biggest margin of victory. Paul was so confident of victory he bought plane tickets for his wife and son to San Antonio on Saturday…

Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol each had 19 for Memphis, which lost a Game 7 at Oklahoma City a year ago in the second round of the playoffs. Zach Randolph had a game-high 12 rebounds…

Los Angeles finished off the win by hitting 9 of 10 free throws in the final 3:26. The Clippers also managed to outrebound the Grizzlies 46-44 for only the second time this series.

Memphis got away from the inside-out approach that won the last two games. The Grizzlies outscored the Clippers 36-24, but Randolph said they took far too many jumpers instead of feeding the ball to Gasol and himself.

— Reported by Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press

LeBron James is winner of 2011-12 NBA MVP award

lebron james

LeBron James of the Miami Heat is the winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2011-12 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, the NBA announced today. James earns the honor for the third time in four seasons and becomes the first player since Michael Jordan to win at least three MVPs.

James totaled 1,074 points, including 85 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 voters that consisted of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada as well as an NBA.com MVP fan vote. For the third consecutive season, the NBA and Kia Motors America gave fans the opportunity to submit their votes by ranking their top five choices through a dedicated Web page on NBA.com. The fan vote counted as one vote and was compiled with the 120 media votes to determine the winner. Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five for third, three for fourth and one for each fifth-place vote received.

kevin durant

Rounding out the top five in voting are Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant (889 points, 24 first-place votes), the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul (385, six first-place votes), the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (352, two first-place votes), and San Antonio’s Tony Parker (331, four first-place votes).

James led the Heat to a 46-20 mark and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Despite averaging a career-low 37.5 minutes, the eight-time All-Star led the NBA in plus-minus score differential (+7.6) and ranked third in scoring (27.1 ppg), while pacing the Heat in assists (6.2 apg) and tying for the team lead in rebounds (7.9 rpg). In addition, James established career bests in field goal percentage (.531) and three-point field goal percentage (.362).

This season, James was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month twice (January and February), and he captured Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors six times, extending his NBA record for the most Player of the Week awards to 37. James has scored double-figure points in 419 consecutive career games, the seventh-longest streak in NBA history, behind Michael Jordan (866), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (streaks of 787 and 508), Karl Malone (575), Moses Malone (526), and Oscar Robertson (428).

The NBA MVP trophy is named in honor of the late Maurice Podoloff, the first commissioner of the NBA who served from 1946 until his retirement in 1963.

Read NBA fan opinion and share your views in this basketball forum topic.

Grizzlies beat Clippers 90-88 to force Game 7

marc gasol

This time, the fourth quarter belonged to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Long the domain of the Clippers’ Chris Paul, it was the Grizzlies who rallied in the closing minutes to beat Los Angeles 90-88 and force a decisive seventh game in their playoff series.

Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph worked their inside-out game to perfection on a night when Paul and Blake Griffin were limited by injuries and the Clippers’ bench couldn’t quite put them over the top.

”This one has to hurt,” Paul said. ”If it doesn’t hurt, it means you don’t care.”

Gasol scored 23 points, Randolph had 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Rudy Gay and Mike Conley added 13 points each to help the Grizzlies win for the first time in the Western Conference series at Staples Center and stave off elimination…

Griffin scored 17 points despite a sprained left knee that limited his jumping ability, and Eric Bledoe added 14 off the bench to lead the Clippers, who blew an eight-point lead in the fourth along with a second consecutive chance to close out what would have been a landmark playoff victory for the beleaguered franchise…

Only eight teams in NBA history have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a seven-game series. Top-seeded San Antonio awaits the winner in the conference semifinals…

The Grizzlies led by nine points in the first half, when they outrebounded the Clippers. Paul twice drew the Clippers within one in the second quarter before Gasol’s three-point play extended Memphis’ lead to 42-38 at the break. Paul and Griffin combined for 12 points and six rebounds in the half, with Paul playing 18 minutes and Griffin 15. The Grizzlies had 13 turnovers in the half, when neither team shot well…

— Reported by the Associated Press

Memphis did all of the little things this time. The Griz got steals, offensive rebounds and made it nearly impossible for the Clippers to score at the rim.

Center Marc Gasol led the Griz with 23 points, and Zach Randolph added 18 points and 16 rebounds.

The Clippers, who led 76-68, early in the fourth quarter, were at full strength despite questions about whether Chris Paul (hip) and Blake Griffin (knee) would play. Both started and didn’t appear limited.

However, the Grizzlies couldn’t have been more impaired handling the basketball if they had tried. They turned the ball over 22 times, breaking a franchise playoff record set against Dallas in 2006.

— Reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal

Paul turned the ball over twice and missed a key free throw in the final five minutes, helping the Grizzlies reclaim home-court advantage in the series before Game 7 Sunday in Memphis.

Despite some poor late-game execution on the offensive end, the Clippers had a chance to make one last push. With 25 seconds left in the game and the Clippers down four, Tony Allen missed two free throws, but after Randy Foye jumped to grab the rebound, his foot landed on the baseline.

— Reported by Dan Woike of the Orange County Register

Blake Griffin has sprained left knee, Chris Paul has strained right hip flexor

Los Angeles Clippers All-Star forward Blake Griffin sustained a sprained left knee in last night’s 80-92 game five Clippers’ loss in Memphis last night. The injury occurred with 1:31 remaining in the third quarter. After being medically cleared to return to the game, Griffin finished the contest with 15 points, 11 rebounds and three steals in 39 minutes played. Griffin underwent an MRI today in Los Angeles which confirmed that there was no structural damage to the knee.

Clippers All-Star point guard Chris Paul suffered a strained right hip flexor with 5:16 remaining in the fourth quarter last night. Paul also returned to the game, finishing the night with 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals in 39 minutes of action.

Both players will be listed as game time decisions for game six tomorrow night at 6:00 PDT vs. Memphis at STAPLES Center.

Grizzlies force Game 6, beat Clippers 92-80

marc gasol

Marc Gasol scored 23 points and Zach Randolph added 19 as the Memphis Grizzlies avoided elimination by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 92-80 on Wednesday night, forcing a Game 6 in the Western Conference first-round series.

With Gasol and Randolph scoring early, the Grizzlies looked like the team that knocked off top-seeded San Antonio last spring and took Oklahoma City to seven games in the conference semifinals.

Game 6 is Friday night in Los Angeles. If the Grizzlies can win, Game 7 would be Sunday in Memphis.

Rudy Gay added 14 points for Memphis.

Mo Williams had 20 points for the Clippers while Chris Paul scored 19 and Blake Griffin had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Paul and Griffin both missed time in the fourth quarter with injuries.

Paul strained a groin muscle and appeared to jam a finger while Griffin hyperextended his left knee…

In the arena nicknamed the Grindhouse in honor of the Grizzlies’ bruising, blue-collar style, Memphis pounded the ball into the paint and banged on the Clippers all game long. The Grizzlies outscored Los Angeles 48-26 in the paint and had a 42-35 edge in rebounds.

— Reported by Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press

CP3 leads Clippers past Grizzlies in OT to 3-1 series lead

chris paul

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

The Clippers blew a 10-point lead late in regulation before finishing without Blake Griffin, who fouled out midway through overtime. It could have been another disaster for a franchise with more than its share, but Paul wouldn’t allow it…

Griffin had 30 points and seven assists before fouling out for the Clippers, who blew an 84-74 lead over the final 4 1/2 minutes before Paul took charge in extra time. He played with the same intensity he showed late in regulation, heedlessly flinging himself over the front row of chairs in an attempt to save a loose ball…

After Paul hit consecutive jumpers to put the Clippers ahead 99-93 with 44 seconds left, Mike Conley’s layup with 8.1 seconds left trimmed the Clippers’ lead back to two points. But after Mo Williams hit two free throws with 7.2 seconds left and Rudy Gay missed a meaningless 3-pointer, Griffin and Paul embraced while another frenzied sellout crowd of long-suffering Clippers fans roared…

Conley scored a career playoff-high 25 points and 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 with four games decided by a total of 15 points…

Caron Butler, playing with a broken bone in his left hand, scored 14 points for the Clippers, who still can’t be comfortable after getting outrebounded 47-36 and giving away a big late lead.

— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press

Paul, Griffin lead Clippers over Grizzlies, 87-86

chris paul

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.

Memphis had seemingly taken the red-clad home crowd out of the game in the third quarter, when it outscored the Clippers 25-14 to take a 71-64 lead…

Zach Randolph scored 17 for Memphis while Gasol and Quincy Pondexter had 11.

Foye had 16 for L.A.

— Reported by Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press

Clippers hope to toughen up vs Grizzlies

Since losing game two Wednesday night, Reggie Evans and the Clippers have watched hours of game film, with their glaring shortcomings staring right at them.

“We got punked around,” Evans said. “It is what it is. They did a good job of being physical. It showed. The tape don’t lie.”

The numbers don’t lie, either.

In game two, Memphis crushed the Clippers on the glass, pulling down 16 offensive rebounds, and the Grizzlies established the physical tone, shooting 21 more free throws.

“They got 16 offensive rebounds so what is that a sign of?” Evans asked. “We got pushed around, punked around – that’s what it’s a sign of. We just have to bounce back. They did what they’re supposed to do and we did what we’re supposed to do. We went there and stole one and they came back and hit us back. “…It’s a mindset. It’s like a little kid getting bullied all the time, eventually the kid’s either going to run or bite back.”

— Reported by Dan Woike of the Orange County Register Blog