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LOS ANGELES — Paul George made a nationalist pledge earlier tip-off connected Saturday night, grabbing a microphone and addressing the fans astatine Staples Center for the Clippers’ location opener: “All play long, we’re gonna play hard.”
It wasn’t a question of that against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Clippers again exhibited recognizable effort successful their 2nd down-to-the ligament decision successful arsenic galore games this young season.
But contempt 41 points and 10 rebounds from George successful his 35 minutes, the Clippers lost, 120-114, aft Jaren Jackson Jr.’s dagger of a 3-pointer with 17.5 seconds near to unopen the doorway connected the Clippers’ bid of comeback attempts.
The Clippers had a three-point pb astatine halftime, but Memphis bounded retired of halftime, tying the people astatine 64-64 and past going connected a 7-0 streak to propulsion their pb to 71-66 – compelling a Clippers timeout.
That conscionable led the Grizzlies drawback their enactment arsenic they continued to make separation, putting arsenic galore arsenic 16 points betwixt them and the Clippers.
But existent to his word, George did what helium could to rev the attempted comeback, shooting 15 for 25 wide and 5 for 12 from 3-point range.
George besides keyed an 11-0 tally implicit a astir two-minute agelong precocious successful the 3rd 4th that shaved 10 points disconnected of what had been a 16-point Memphis lead. He turned the country and flew successful for a two-handed dunk that chopped the pb to 10 – 91-81. He followed a Nicolas Batum 3-pointer with 1 of his ain to marque it 95-89.
But the go-go Grizzlies kept coming, keeping the Clippers astatine arm’s magnitude arsenic their diminutive lineup battled with 6-foot-11 beardown antheral Steven Adams, whose 17 points were the fewest of the Grizzlies starters, each of whom finished successful treble figures.
Ja Morant led the mode for Memphis with 28 points.
George deed his 4th 3-pointer, grabbed a antiaircraft committee and delivered a walk to a sprinting Eric Bledsoe for a bucket that chopped it to 111-106 with 4 minutes to play. The pridefulness of Palmdale deed 2 escaped throws – helium finished 6 for 6 from the enactment aft taking nary escaped throws successful the play opener – and trimmed the shortage to conscionable 111-108 with 3:30 left.
And past helium buried a 5th 3-pointer to marque it 114-112.
After Desmond Bane answered with a bucket, a 116-112, George drove successful for a pugnacious double-clutch layup that chopped it to 116-114.
But Jackson Jr.’s 3-pointer with 17.5 seconds near sealed it.
In the archetypal half, a forceful few-minute instauration of Isaiah Hartenstein helped the Clippers retrieve from an aboriginal 6-0 shortage to physique a first-half pb arsenic ample arsenic 13.
The comfy buffer was short-lived, though, arsenic Memphis changeable 10 for 23 from 3-point scope successful the archetypal fractional and trailed conscionable 62-59 astatine halftime.
The Clippers changeable 50% (27 for 54) from the level successful the archetypal half, but conscionable 7 for 20 from down the arc – and lone 1 for 1 astatine the foul line. The Grizzles got to the stripe much often to start, going into the interruption having made 9 of 10 foul shots.
In a agelong of a infinitesimal and a half, Hartenstein scored 8 points connected an array of moves astatine the rim. There was a 2-foot layup, a dunk disconnected a Bledsoe pass, an alley-oop flush disconnected a walk from Nicolas Batum, and finally, a layup disconnected a walk from Mann. All of it bumped the Clippers’ pb 40-34.
More to travel connected this story.
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