The Clippers had so will themselves to a win so survive the 'Grit n Grind' of the short handed Memphis to secure a 94-86 win. Marc Gasol of the Grizzlies had to leave in the 1st half with a sprained ankle leaving the already injury plagued Memphis in an even tougher position. Nevertheless, they still put up a good fight and the Clippers also showed a great toughness and will to win to survive the stingy Memphis defence.
It took a lot of dirty, grinding plays from Deandre Jordan and many timely shots from CP3, J.J. Redick and Blake Griffin down the stretch for the Clips to get the separation they needed for the win. The team now stands in the 3 way tie for the second seed (54-26) after capturing their 12th win out of the last 13 games.
"To be in this position is great" said Blake Griffin. "I have no idea what it breaks down too... I have no clue.
Due to the 3 way tie the Clippers will be unlikely to know who they are facing come playoff time until after the last game of the regular season but the Clips are keeping their focus.
"We'll take the wins" said Blake Griffin.
The Clippers are no stranger to scrappy wins against The Grizzlies and since in many ways this was a must-win game for The Clippers they can be happy they got the "business" done. Jordan took advantage of a depleted Grizzlies front line finishing with 16 points and 16 rebounds while knocking down important freethrows (4-5). Paul dished and scored his way to 15 points and 14 assists while J.J. and Blake ended the game with 18 points and piece.
"We just needed as many grind out plays as we could have offensively and defensively" Jordan said. "when we needed them we got them"
These plays were largely evident in the 4th quarter of the game, the most notable being Jordan's hustle play of Calathes.
The upcoming schedule of The Clippers looms to lighten up in the final moments of the regular season with games against non-playoff teams Denver and Phoenix but like Blake Griffin said - "its all business".
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