Gay leads Grizzlies past Clippers

MEMPHIS, Tenn.(AP) More energy, a little
extra desire and Rudy Gay's second-half scoring spree helped the
Memphis Grizzlies end the their seven-game losing streak.Gay scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half to lead Memphis to a 93-81 victory over the Clippers on Friday night."I'd
say that was probably the first time this year where I actually hit a
couple of shots in a row,'' Gay said. "Hopefully, it carries on, and I
can get back to being my old self.''O.J. Mayo added 20 points, and Hakim Warrick had 14.Memphis,
which had given up 104.3 points in the losing streak, worked harder on
defense and capitalized on Los Angeles turnovers.Memphis coach
Marc Iavaroni inserted Kyle Lowry and Darko Milicic in the starting
lineup in hopes of providing more pressure on Baron Davis and Zach
Randolph."It's not a bad time to change things up after seven in a row,'' Iavaroni said.Davis
led the Clippers with 23 points and eight assists, and Randolph had 21
points, but Iavaroni was still pleased with what he perceived as a
better level of intensity."I thought our guys played harder and
more together than they've played in the past,'' Iavaroni said. "I
thought our defense stepped up in the second half. That was the key to
the game.''Marcus Camby finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and
six assists for the Clippers in their seventh loss in eight games. Al
Thornton, the Clippers' second leading scorer, had nine points,
considerably below his 17.4 average, on 3-of-13 from the field."I had some open looks, but I just wasn't able to knock them down,'' Thornton said.Memphis built its lead to double digits in the third period, and was up by 17 in the fourth quarter."It feels good to win again,'' Iavaroni said.Memphis
dominated the boards with a 40-25 advantage, while also shooting
7-of-13 from beyond the arc. The 25 rebounds was a season-low for the
Clippers.Both teams shot well at the start, when they could hold
onto the ball. The first six turnovers by the Clippers led to a dozen
Memphis points. Memphis already had a handful of turnovers before the
end of the first quarter.Despite shooting 55 percent midway
through the second quarter, the Clippers still trailed primarily
because of nine turnovers. They had 12 miscues in the half.Memphis eventually would have 19 turnovers in the game, compared to 17 for the Clippers."Our
turnovers really hurt us tonight; 17 turnovers for 23 points,''
Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "We just got killed on the boards.
Their size really hurt us. We were only able to get three offensive
rebounds on the night, and that's not a good number for us.''Notes:
Mayo already had reached double figures in the first quarter, marking
his 19th straight game surpassing 10 points. That matched Lamar Odom
for the longest stretch of double-digit performances for a rookie
starting their NBA career since 1997-98. ... Clippers C Chris Kaman
missed his fourth game because of a strained left arch. ...The 3-16
start for the Clippers is the worst since Los Angeles started 1-18
after losing its first 17 games.