• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Griffin's triple-double helps Clippers down Grizzlies

Apr 14, 2011 - 6:52 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Blake Griffin ended his potential Rookie of the Year campaign with his second triple-double, as the Clippers survived a late rally to defeat the playoff-bound Memphis Grizzlies, 110-103.

The Grizzlies (46-36) had a chance to grab the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference with a win, but opted to rest several key players in the regular season finale. Memphis will play the top-seeded Spurs in the first round of the playoffs beginning on Sunday in San Antonio.

Griffin posted 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Clippers (32-50), who got 24 points from Eric Gordon to avoid a season-ending four-game losing streak.

Sam Young scored 22 points to lead Memphis, which trailed by as many as 30 before pushing back late.

"We were much better in the second half. We moved the ball much better. We were embarrassing in the first half," Memphis forward Shane Battier said.

The visitors were down, 92-74, entering the fourth, but scored 12 straight points to pull within 96-88 on an O.J. Mayo layup near the midway point.

The Grizzlies continued to chip away at the deficit, and a Greivis Vasquez three-pointer with 33.5 seconds showing made it a 107-103 game.

Griffin turned the ball over to give it back to Memphis, but Mayo missed a three-pointer and Vasquez turned the ball over to end the comeback bid.

"You can't say we don't make it interesting," Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We started looking at the scoreboard ... But we hung in there."

Griffin scored 13 points in the first quarter, hitting one more field goal (five) than the entire Grizzlies' roster (four).

The score at the end of the opening frame was 34-20, and the Clippers scored 16 of the final 18 points of the second stanza. Eric Bledsoe's three-point play in the final seconds resulted in a 66-37 cushion.

Game Notes

The teams split the four-game season series...DeAndre Jordan chipped in 14 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles...Vasquez netted 17 points in defeat...Memphis finished 16-25 on the road, while the Clippers went 23-18 at home.