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Randolph, Gordon lead the charge as Clippers rout Grizzlies

Feb 7, 2009 - 5:30 AM MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- When the season began, Eric Gordon was riding the bench and Zach Randolph was still toiling away in New York. Now, they're taking turns carrying a struggling Los Angeles Clippers squad.

The two combined for 58 points and the Clippers hit a franchise-record 16 3-pointers to snap a seven-game losing streak with a 126-105 rout of the Memphis Grizzlies.

"I don't know the last time we had a win, but I know we were definitely due for one," Randolph said. "We came out with a lot of energy and lot of focus. That's what we need."

While the team's marquee free agent acquisitions, Baron Davis and Marcus Camby, were virtually absent for most of the first three quarters, Gordon and Randolph carried the load. The two led an offensive onslaught in the first half, as Randolph exploited the slow Memphis defense with a collection of post moves and long jumpers.

"We got Zach back into his rhythm, and now we have a low-post game," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "That sets up opportunities where you take good shots. We were moving the basketball and got a lot of good looks, and guys banged them down."

Gordon, a rookie guard whose playing time increased exponentially after the first month of the campaign, provided fireworks of his own as he made his first six shots of the night and finished a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line. He knocked down a pair of threes in a 90-second span in the first quarter, then closed a frame with a nifty drive to the basket for an easy layup.

"I thought Eric Gordon was great," Dunleavy said. "I thought he had a great night of attacking the rim and shooting the ball for us."

The Clippers closed the first half with a flurry, as Gordon, Ricky Davis and Randolph all connected from long range in the final 49 seconds - including Randolph's 50-foot heave from beyond halfcourt - to take a 68-49 lead into the break. The Grizzlies, who came into the day riding a modest two-game winning streak, could not recover.

"We need to come out and compete. We need to compete like this every night," Randolph said. "We got a lot of talent on this team. I know our record don't show it, but we know when we focus we play pretty good."

Randolph's 3-pointer with 2:48 left in the final quarter was the Clippers' 15th of the night, breaking the franchise's single-game record.

The rangy, 6-9 forward was playing his third game back since missing more than a month with a bone bruise on his left knee and finished with 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting.

Standout rookie O.J. Mayo had a rare off-night, going 3-of-9 from the field and finishing with just 10 points after putting together back-to-back showings of more than 30 points.

"I was trying to limit some of (Mayo's) touches because when he gets going, he really gets going," Gordon said. "He's a rhythm player and he knows how to score. I just wanted to make sure he had to work for it."

Rudy Gay picked up some of the slack, going for 26 points and snagging five boards, but Memphis ultimately succumbed to one of Los Angeles' hottest shooting performances in recent memory. Over the final 5:22 of the third quarter, the Clippers hit 8-of-9 shots, including five 3-pointers.

"We were not attacking," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "I didn't think their defense was that great, but they did a good job of keeping Rudy and O.J. out of what we were trying to do."

On the night, they shot 59 percent (46-of-78), including 55 percent (16-of-29) from the arc. During their seven-game skid - during which they lost by an average margin of 20.3 points - they failed to reach the 100-point plateau even once, but snapped out of their scoring slump in a big way this time, setting a season high in points.

Ricky Davis added 24 points off the bench for the Clippers and knocked down six threes.

"It felt great (to get a win)," he said. "Guys were shooting the ball. It felt great to get it going again."