Clippers take Game 1 with 112-91 win over Grizzlies

L.A. dominates on boards for rout

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers' depth and athleticism made it a long night for the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Griz now must find more productivity from its bench and more willing rebounders if they intend to make their first-round playoff series a long one.

Memphis got bullied on the boards and didn't have enough Saturday night throughout a 112-91 Game 1 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in Staples Center.

The Clippers took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven match-up. Game 2 is Monday night in Staples Center.

By then, the Griz had better be ready to literally jump into this series. They grabbed a franchise playoff-low 23 rebounds, while the Clippers collected 47 boards en route to a wire-to-wire victory.

"More surprising is our two big people had six (rebounds) and no offensive boards," Griz coach Lionel Hollins said, referring to his starting center Marc Gasol and power forward Zach Randolph.

A sellout crowd looked to be in for a dramatic finish with a mere point separating the teams early in the fourth quarter. But the game unraveled for the Griz, with the Clippers' bench pulling the thread.

Memphis trailed 77-76 when Los Angeles scored seven unanswered points as part of an 18-6 run that gave it control for good. The Clippers had reserves Eric Bledsoe, Jamal Crawford, Lamar Odom, Ronny Turiaf and Matt Barnes on the floor when they began to pull away.

Gasol had just one rebound for the game until three minutes remained in the fourth quarter. One of his flat-footed moments happened as the Clippers put together an 11-3 run. Bledsoe, the smallest player on the court, flew in front of Gasol and tipped in a Blake Griffin miss. The put-back basket gave the Clippers an 86-77 lead.

"They can't out-hustle us," Gasol said. "They can't play harder than us. I don't care if we shoot 20 percent, they can't outwork us."

Bledsoe finished with 15 points off the bench. He made all of his seven shot attempts.

"Bledsoe is that blur," Clippers point guard Chris Paul said after scoring a game-high 23 points. "They didn't know who to guard with him on the floor."

Memphis' NBA-leading defense didn't hold up. The Clippers shot 55 percent and had seven players score in double figures, including three off the bench.

Reserve Jerryd Bayless led the Griz with 19 points. No one else on the bench had more than six points. Gasol led the starters with 16 points. He finished with two rebounds. Randolph had four boards.

The Griz were outscored 25-5 in second-chance points.

"It's disappointing how we played. Give them credit," Randolph said. "But we were in the game. They made a run, had 37 points in the fourth quarter and that was the game."

Memphis got off to a sluggish start that eventually turned into a double-digit deficit, but they closed to 57-51 by halftime.

The Griz settled down when their anchors held firm. Gasol and Randolph weren't much of a factor in the opening period. Gasol looked passive and Randolph had to take a seat on the bench with his second foul just five minutes in.

But Randolph returned to court to start the second period and gave the Griz eight foul-free and productive minutes. He had nine points by the intermission and Gasol had posted a team-high 11.

Their scoring was a big reason why the Griz shot 11 of 17 from the field in the second period. Until Randolph and Gasol found a rhythm, Bayless' scoring kept the Griz from getting blown out.

And Memphis' defense wasn't completely porous. The Griz didn't allow the Clippers the lob dunks and highlight plays they normally make to energize the crowd.

"They do a good job. They're tough on defensively inside," Clippers forward Blake Griffin said after fouling out with 10 points on 3 of 9 shooting. "But our guys made shots and that's all that matters."

The Clippers, who enjoyed 53-percent shooting in the first half, opened the second quarter by scoring five unanswered points. The mini-run extended their lead to 34-21 before a Bayless 22-foot jump shot got the Griz on the board.

Bayless later buried a 3-pointer and the Griz used an 18-8 run to cut their deficit to 42-39 midway through the period.

The Griz helped their cause by taking care of the basketball. They had just two turnovers in the half and both happened in the first period. Keeping their mistakes to a minimum helped compensate for Memphis' early foul trouble.

After Randolph's two quick fouls, the Griz had four of five starters with at least two fouls by the time 8:49 remained in the second quarter. Point guard Mike Conley was assessed his third foul two minutes before halftime.

Los Angeles played with a different energy from the start. They jumped out to a 6-0 lead that forced Hollins to call for time two minutes into the game.

The Clippers kept making tough shots, like the 3-pointer Jamal Crawford connected on while being bumped to the ground in front of the Los Angeles bench. Crawford sank a free throw to complete the four-point play.

"They came out very aggressive. They had a lot of emotion early. They really stepped on the gas pedal early and made it tough for us," Conley said. "They're very athletic. They have two and three guys going to the glass every time, jumping over us and just using their athleticism. We have to do a better job of boxing out. If we do that we have a good chance of winning."

Tip-ins: Griz chairman Robert Pera attended the game and sat several rows behind the team's bench. Griz backup point guard Keyon Dooling picked up a technical foul for arguing a foul call early in the second period. Clippers forward Matt Barnes received a technical while sitting on the bench in the third period. Griffin fouled out with 3:22 left.