LOS ANGELES -- Despite a bit of a third-quarter collapse, the Los Angeles Clippers took command of their first-round series with Memphis, defeating the Grizzlies 87-86. Chris Paul put the Clippers up for good in the final two minutes, shaking to his right to can a contested jumper and finding Blake Griffin for a baseline jam. Rudy Gay had some late-game heroics of his own, but his last-second shot bounced off the rim. Paul finished with 24 points and 11 assists in the win, which puts the Clippers up 2-1 in the best-of-7 series. Game 4 in the series will be Monday in Los Angeles (7:30 p.m. PST tipoff). The Clippers got an early lift when Caron Butler returned to the starting lineup. Butler missed Game 2 and was expected to be out for 4-6 weeks with a broken bone in his left hand. But Butler practiced Friday and felt well enough to play while wearing padding and a brace on his injured hand. Los Angeles couldn’t capitalize on the early momentum as Memphis’ Zach Randolph looked ...
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May 06, 2012
