Randolph leads Clippers to win over Grizzlies

MEMPHIS, Tenn.(AP) The Los Angeles Clippers
used the best 3-point shooting night in franchise history to end their
seven-game losing streak.Zach Randolph had 35 points and 10
rebounds, while Ricky Davis added a season-high 24 points as the
Clippers used 16 3-pointers to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 126-105 on
Friday night."It was one of them nights,'' Randolph said of the shooting performance.Eric
Gordon added 23 for the Clippers, who won for the first time on the
road since Dec. 19 at Indiana, a skid that had reached 11 straight road
setbacks. The Clippers shot 59 percent from the field, including 55
percent outside the arc.Los Angeles built its lead early and
just continued to extend the advantage, with the help of the long-range
shooting. Randolph was 4-of-5 from outside, Gordon was 3-of-5 and Ricky
Davis hit six of his 10 shots from 3-point range. The 126 points were
also a season-high for the Clippers.Scoring a lot of points has
been a formula for Los Angeles' wins this year. In all 11 victories,
the Clippers have scored at least 94 points."I think our strong
suit is just being able to get up and down and see how many points we
can score,'' guard Baron Davis said. "We don't pride ourselves on our
defense. So, we have to be able to score a lot of points.''Rudy
Gay led Memphis with 26 points, hitting nine of his 13 shots. Mike
Conley finished with 18 points, and Greg Buckner added 13 points,
season highs for both.Through three quarters, the Clippers were
shooting 61 percent from the field, including 14-of-22 from outside the
arc for 63.6 percent, helping Los Angeles build a 25-point lead."It's
tough to come back from the deficit we forced ourselves into in the
first half,'' Gay said. "It was tough, but it also was a lesson.''The
Grizzlies hardly looked like the team that had played their way to two
straight double-digit wins. The Clippers seemed to outhustle Memphis to
balls and make the Grizzlies pay for not covering shooters on defense.
That allowed the Clippers to shoot above 50 percent most of the game."They
were knocking down shots,'' Conley said. "(I) thought we played OK
defense against them, but we could have played a lot better to start
off the game. The first quarter, we didn't come out with any energy,
and kind of let them get in a groove. They just didn't miss shots from
then on.''Memphis was forced to go to the bench early as Darko
Milicic picked up three fouls in just over four minutes. O.J. Mayo (10
points) and Marc Gasol also were whistled for three fouls in the half.
With rookie forward Darrell Arthur away from the team for family
reasons, the foul problems left the Grizzlies short-handed,
particularly across the front line.Memphis coach Lionel Hollins
said Arthur's absence forced him to go with a pair of 7-footers -
Milicic and Gasol - in the starting lineup."I don't think that
worked too well,'' said Hollins, who was named coach after Marc
Iavaroni was fired Jan. 22. "Obviously, it didn't work too well against
this team.''Baron Davis and DeAndre Jordan also had to sit out
part of the first half with foul issues, but that didn't seem to affect
the Clippers as they built a 15-point lead midway through the second
period.The Clippers eventually would go to the locker room
shooting 57.5 percent, including Randolph's 3-pointer from beyond
midcourt as time expired in the half, giving Los Angeles its largest
lead of the half at 68-49.The 68 points were nine more than the Clippers have had in any half this season."Our
guys did a great job of moving the basketball,'' Clippers coach Mike
Dunleavy said. "We got a lot of good looks, and we were banging them
down.''Notes: Despite the loss, Memphis still holds a 27-26 lead
in the series, one of only two teams the Grizzlies hold an edge over.
Charlotte is the other. ... Al Thornton is the only Clippers player to
start all 50 of the team's games. ... Officials reviewed Randolph's
49-footer at the halftime horn before ruling it good. Baron Davis
didn't like the call that led to his fourth foul, and expressed his
displeasure enough to official Eli Roe, who gave the Clippers point
guard a technical.