Montrezl Harrell tipped in the game-winner with 2.3 seconds remaining, capping a raucous fourth-quarter rally as the visiting Los Angeles Clippers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 121-119 on Wednesday night to earn their seventh straight victory.
In what was a competitive game throughout, Memphis opened the fourth quarter with the first 10 points, part of a 19-6 run that spanned the first five minutes of the period. Looking to end a four-game skid, Memphis led for much of the fourth quarter.
The Clippers battled back behind 24 points and 10 rebounds from Harrell, and 24 points from Lou Williams. Moe Harkless scored just five points, getting the start in place of Kawhi Leonard, but provided a win-sealing block of Jaren Jackson Jr.'s shot in the final seconds that would have tied the score.
After a full-strength Clippers lineup beat the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday in the first leg of a back-to-back, reigning NBA Finals MVP Leonard missed Wednesday's game. The NBA fined Los Angeles $50,000 earlier this month when coach Doc Rivers made comments about managing Leonard's workload.
The Clippers came into their current, three-game road trip with just one win away from Staples Center this season. They played without All-Star Paul George for the season's first month, which included four of their first five road games.
Following a dominant performance Tuesday in Dallas, George scored 22 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished two assists on Wednesday. George's second 3-pointer of the final 4:10 gave Los Angeles its first lead of the fourth quarter.
Jonas Valanciunas posted game highs of 30 points and 16 rebounds for Memphis.
Rookie guard Ja Morant endured a slow scoring start, but the Grizzlies' leading scorer this season woke up down the stretch. He scored nine of his 20 points late in the fourth quarter, and dished a game-high 11 assists for the night.
Jae Crowder added 20 points and Jackson 17 for Memphis..
--Field Level Media
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points, leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 111-96 victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
Leonard also had seven rebounds, six assists and three blocks. The Los Angeles bench was dominant as usual, with Lou Williams adding 23 points and Montrezl Harrell scoring 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
Clippers guard Landry Shamet scored all 16 of his points in the first half, and center Ivica Zubac recorded a career-high five blocks.
"We made shots and we ended up winning the game," said Leonard, who converted 10 of 18 shots from the floor.
Point guard Terry Rozier finished with 17 points to lead six Hornets in double digits. Cody Zeller chipped in 14 points and 13 rebounds. Reserve guard Devonte' Graham had 14 points and 12 assists for Charlotte while Malik Monk scored 15 points, P.J. Washington had 11 and Bismack Biyombo scored 10.
The Clippers won for the third time in four games this season. The Hornets dropped their third in a row after winning their opener.
Los Angeles outscored Charlotte 29-20 in the third quarter for an 86-74 advantage heading into the fourth. A 10-3 run capped by a floater by Harrell and a layup by Leonard increased the margin to 96-79 with 7:45 remaining.
Charlotte pulled within eight after a 3-pointer by Miles Bridges with 4:14 left, but the Hornets got no closer as the Clippers pulled away.
The Clippers led 57-54 at the break. Leonard scored 15 points before the half. Rozier was the only Hornet to reach double figures in the first half with 10 points.
The Clippers connected on 50 percent of their shots compared to 48.8 percent for the Hornets in the first half. Both teams committed 11 turnovers in the first half and 21 for the game.
Overall, Los Angeles outshot Charlotte 48.2 percent to 43.4 percent.
The Clippers bolted out of the gate, leading by as much as 14 in the first quarter before the Hornets regrouped. Charlotte ended the quarter on a 17-4 run to slice the deficit to 29-28.
The Los Angeles reserves, who led the NBA in bench scoring entering the contest, outscored the Hornets' reserves 50-41.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
