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 Trailing by 10 early in the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies rallied by
forcing the Lakers to miss 13 of the final 21 shots they attempted.
The Lakers made only one field goal in the game's final three
minutes as the Grizzlies won 97-90 for their sixth straight win over
the Lakers dating to last season. Memphis improved to 4-0 against
Los Angeles this season.
"We got stops," said Grizzlies center Marc Gasol. "If there is no
ball pressure by us, if there is no communication, if there are no
five guys tied together (to play defense), it's going to be really
hard for us to win games. We need to do it every possession."
Forward Zach Randolph had 24 points and 13 rebounds and Gasol scored
18 to lead the Grizzlies. Memphis also got 16 points from Jeff
Green, who was 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Tony Allen scored
15 points off the bench.
Rookie guard Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with a career-high 25
points. Los Angeles, which dropped its fourth straight, lost for the
14th time in 15 road games.
Clarkson scored 23 of his points in the first three quarters. He was
limited to 1-of-3 shooting in the final quarter.
"We let them get confident, we let them get into a rhythm," Gasol
said. "I thought they got into the paint way too easy. And Clarkson
got going way too easy. We can't win just playing nonchalant and
just going through the motions for (most) of the time. Everything
starts on the (defensive) end."
The Grizzlies put Allen, their best defender, on Clarkson late in
the game to limit his productivity.
"I think Jordan should look at that a very good positive because
Tony is a lockdown type guy," said Lakers coach Byron Scott. "He
loves those types of challenges."
Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger praised the overall effort of Allen,
who was as effective offensively as he was defensively.
"We didn't have quite enough zip to put pressure on some of their
shots," Joerger said. "But it was just a good resiliency battle. I
don't think Jordan Clarkson scored in the last eight minutes."
In addition to its late defensive play, Memphis (44-17) relied on
its free-throw shooting to secure the win. The Grizzlies trailed
79-69 early in the fourth quarter after a dunk by the Lakers' Ed
Davis, but slowly fought back and took an 88-87 lead with 1:36
remaining on two free throws by Green. Grizzlies guard Mike Conley
split a pair of free throws with 46.8 seconds left to put Memphis
up, 89-87, and Gasol dropped in two free throws with 23 seconds to
go to make it 91-87.
In the closing 3:18, the Grizzlies were 13 of 16 from the free-throw
line. Gasol was 7-of-8 during the stretch.
A running hook by Lakers' reserve forward Jordan Hill with 20.2
seconds left trimmed the Memphis lead to 91-89, but they couldn't
get any closer. The Lakers (16-45) lost for the 11th time in 14
games and now hold only a 26-25 advantage over the Grizzlies since
the franchise moved to Memphis from Vancouver.
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"That's what great teams do in the last three minutes when there's a
chance to win the game," Scott said of the Grizzlies. "They just
buckle down. And they buckled down. That's why they're one of the
best teams in this league."
The Lakers led by three at the half and extended their lead to eight
(53-45) early in the third quarter on a shot from Clarkson. The
Grizzlies rallied to briefly grab a one-point point lead (62-61)
when Nick Calathes stole an inbounds pass and dropped in a layup.
Wayne Ellington answered seconds later with a 3-pointer. The Lakers
led 71-67 after three quarters.
Despite leading by 10 points early in the second quarter, the
Grizzlies were unable to maintain their advantage. The Lakers, after
a cold-shooting first quarter (8-of-21, 38 percent), recovered in
the second. Los Angeles made 12 of 22 to grab a 46-43 lead.
Clarkson had 17 first-half points. He is averaging nearly 14 points
since moving into the starting lineup 18 games ago.
"He had a great game," said the Lakers' Davis. "He came out real
aggressive."
The Grizzlies got 12 first-half points from Allen, who went 6-for-6
in 12 minutes.
Memphis led 24-14 in the closing minute of the first quarter after
Allen scored on a layup. An Allen follow early in the second quarter
put the Grizzlies ahead, 26-16. But the Lakers outscored the
Grizzlies, 30-17, during the final 11 minutes of the quarter.
Memphis shot 32 percent in the second quarter.
NOTES: Memphis reserve G Nick Calathes entered Friday's game
averaging 2.71 steals per game since the All-Star break. He ranks
third among NBA players in steals since the break, but has posted
the average in only 15.7 minutes per game. ... Lakers rookie C Tarik
Black, who played for the University of Memphis, returned to
FedExForum in his second NBA uniform. Black, who played his senior
season at Kansas, was with the Houston Rockets earlier this season.
He joined the Lakers on Dec. 28. ... Grizzlies G Tony Allen is
attempting to become the first NBA player to average two steals in
fewer than 28 minutes per game since Nat McMillan averaged 2.06 in
25.9 minutes 20 years ago. Allen entered Friday's game averaging
1.94 steals in 25.4 minutes. ... Lakers G Nick Young missed his
sixth straight game with a swollen left knee. Lakers coach Byron
Scott said Young would be re-evaluated Saturday.
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