FILE – Desmond Bane #22 of the Memphis Grizzlies reacts against the LA Clippers in the second half at Crypto.com Arena on March 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images/AFP
Desmond Bane scored 22 points and Luke Kennard added 17 against his former team as the Memphis Grizzlies exacted some revenge on the visiting Los Angeles Clippers with a 108-94 victory Friday.
Xavier Tillman scored 14 points and Santi Aldama added 13 as Memphis won two days after the Clippers ended the Grizzlies’ seven-game overall winning streak and 12-game home winning streak.
Memphis (49-28) solidified its hold on second place in the Western Conference despite getting just 10 points from Ja Morant, who was 4 of 11 from the field in 26 minutes.
Grizzlies defeat the Clippers 108-94 in their second to last home game of the season.
now hear a rewind from @jessbensontv & @langwhitaker pic.twitter.com/gyYkGxzN9p
— Grind City Media (@grindcitymedia) April 1, 2023
Norman Powell scored 16 points and Ivica Zubac added 15 points with 15 rebounds as the Clippers were unable to continue the prowess from 3-point range that they showed Wednesday when they were 22 of 37 (59.5 percent) from distance. Los Angeles went 11 of 35 (31.4 percent) on Friday.
Kawhi Leonard scored 12 points for the Clippers (41-37), who entered in fifth place in the Western Conference, one game ahead of the sixth-place Golden State Warriors. Russell Westbrook scored four points with 11 assists, one game after he had a season-high 36 points.
Los Angeles saw both Eric Gordon (hip) and Leonard (rest) depart at halftime. Leonard, who was not with the team Wednesday because of personal reasons, played 18 minutes in the first half and did not play again with the intention of playing Saturday at New Orleans.
The Clippers led by as many as 20 points in the first quarter before the Grizzlies stormed back to lead 55-51 at halftime. Memphis continued its momentum in the third quarter, taking an 86-72 advantage into the final period.
Memphis’ lead grew to 20 at 95-75 with 10:10 remaining after a Tyus Jones 3-pointer.
The game looked far different than Wednesday. Not only was Leonard back for the Clippers, Jones (foot), Jaren Jackson Jr. (calf) and Bane (foot) all were back after missing the first of the two-game set.
Jackson set the Grizzlies franchise record for blocks in a season with 180 after collecting three against the Clippers. He broke his own record set last season.