Clippers claw back from a 19-point deficit. Mathurin's late free throws seal a thrilling 123-120 victory after a Grizzlies collapse.
Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points, Darius Garland added 21, and the Los Angeles Clippers survived a second-half rally attempt Saturday night to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 123-120.
Bennedict Mathurin finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles, and Derrick Jones Jr. contributed 16 points as the Clippers won for the fourth time in five games. Mathurin's two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining proved to be the decisive basket, coming just before Ty Jerome's 3-point attempt to tie the game rimmed out at the buzzer.
Jerome led Memphis with 23 points and seven assists. Taylor Hendricks scored 18 points, and Cedric Coward added 15 as the Grizzlies dropped their third consecutive game and fell to 23-39 on the season. GG Jackson and Coward each grabbed seven rebounds. Eleven Memphis players scored on the night.
Memphis built a 19-point advantage in the first quarter, fueled by an extraordinary shooting stretch from 3-point range. The Grizzlies made 10 3-pointers on 18 attempts in the opening period, with Olivier-Maxence Prosper leading the way with nine points on three made 3-pointers. Cam Spencer added eight points and two 3-pointers as nine Memphis players scored in the quarter, which ended 41-23. The Clippers, playing on the second night of a back-to-back, were held scoreless from 3-point range in the period.
The advantage evaporated in the second quarter. Memphis committed 10 turnovers and made just one 3-pointer in the period as Los Angeles ramped up its defense and generated easy transition baskets.
"We didn't do a good enough job in the basics in the second quarter," Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said. "We didn't take care of the ball, and that opened up transition baskets for them. I think we had almost 30% of our possessions end with a turnover in the second half of the second quarter."
Leonard scored 15 points in the quarter alone, and the Clippers trailed by just one at 59-58 at halftime.
The game remained tight throughout the second half. Memphis held a 118-117 lead with roughly two minutes remaining in the fourth before Leonard and Jordan Miller each converted a pair of free throws to give Los Angeles a 121-118 edge. The Grizzlies could not complete the comeback.
Los Angeles attempted 45 free throws and shot 37-for-45 from the line. Leonard shot 12-for-14 at the stripe. Iisalo acknowledged foul discipline was a persistent problem throughout the night.
"Every time I looked up to the video board where they showed the replay of a foul on the drive, our hands were outside the cylinder — they were in the cookie jar, so to speak," Iisalo said. "It's not only the best offensive players anymore — it's guys almost one through fifteen who are able to read that if you have your hand on the body, they will create that contact and it's consistently called. We've got to do a better job as a team of doing it."
The Clippers also held a 50% offensive rebounding rate, compounding Memphis's defensive miscues.
"The biggest challenge for us today was the defensive rebounding overall, and that's why they were able to get back into the game," Iisalo said. "They also had, I think, 50% offensive rebounding for the game, which is very difficult to make up for."
Coward's 15-point outing was an encouraging sign for Iisalo, who has been working to expand the second-year wing's offensive role as the season winds down. Memphis carried five point guards among its 11 available players Saturday, creating a crowded backcourt and making it difficult to get forwards involved in creation situations.
"One of the challenges we have is that today, for example, we had five point guards on the roster out of the eleven players available," Iisalo said. "So there are a lot of guys who are used to having the ball and creating for others. It can be a challenge to also get Cedric involved. But I thought today we did it a little better — getting him and GG touches offensively, balancing their off-ball game while continuing to develop them as complete players."
Los Angeles, which was 15 games under .500 earlier this season, improved to 31-32 and sits ninth in the Western Conference standings. The Clippers connected on just four 3-pointers on 17 attempts, a season low, making their free-throw volume all the more significant.
Memphis was without six rotation players due to injury, including Ja Morant, who missed his 20th game with a left elbow UCL sprain. Before tip-off, Morant addressed local media for the first time since Jan. 21, discussing his future in Memphis, the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade, and his elbow recovery. He pointed to a Grizzlies logo tattooed on his back as a sign of his commitment to the franchise.
The Grizzlies return to action Monday at the Brooklyn Nets, with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on FanDuel Sports Network.