All five starters reached double figures as the Western Conference rival Los Angeles Clippers took advantage of a cold-shooting second quarter to top the Memphis Grizzlies, 128-114, at Inuit Dome in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
“It was a combination of things. We were playing too much one-on-one. We were playing in crowds. It was a layup fest on the other end. Our movement just wasn’t there. There were a lot of things forced,” said Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins.
L.A. outscored Memphis 27-14 to end the first half, after falling behind 50-39 on a Zach Edey alley-oop from Jaren Jackson Jr. with 7:50 left in the second quarter. A Derrick Jones Jr. three-point shot with 1:05 left in the period gave the Clippers the lead of the game since midway through the first quarter.
The Grizzlies woes continued in the second half. The Clippers extended their lead with a 17-2 run. Powell converted a three-point play at the free-throw line with 5:52 in the third quarter to give L.A. their largest lead, 96-73. The Grizzlies trimmed the margin to 102-84 to end the third period.
Memphis outscored the Clippers 30-26 in the final quarter.
Staring at an early 9-0 deficit, Memphis found their range in the middle of the first quarter. The Grizzlies shot 65 percent from the field, including 78 percent from the three-point range to end the period with a 39-28 lead. The Clippers hit 40% in the quarter.
“We didn’t have much energy to start the game. They made a big run in the first quarter and we punched back. In the second half we didn’t have the energy to punch back. I tried to find a way to give a spark,” said Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells.
A rookie, Wells finished with 18 points on 7-10 shooting.
Clippers’ forward Kawhi Leonard led all scorers with 25 points, after hitting 9-19 from the field. The oft-injured former All-Star also sank 2-5 from deep. In his 10 games played this season, Leonard is averaging 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists. The numbers represent his lowest marks since his fourth season in the league.
James Harden scored 18 points and added a game-high 10 assists. Harden was voted in as a starter on the 2025 Western Conference All-Star team. It will be his 11th appearance. Backcourt mate Norman Powell matched the total with 18 points of his own. Kris Dunn added 14 points and center Ivan Zubac chipped in 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Desmond Bane was a bright spot for Memphis. The guard scored 23 points after hitting 8-17 from the field. The fifth-year player also knocked down 6-11 from deep. Bane is averaging 18.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 43 games played this season.
“Just finding that matchup that I wanted and attacking. Shots were falling and everything was clicking,” said Bane.
Jaren Jackson cooled off a bit from his recent scoring run with a 13 point, six rebound effort. The All-Star reserve had three games with scoring over 30 points to start the month. He is averaging a team-leading 23.0 points and six rebounds.
The Grizzlies second leading scorer, Ja Morant, was held out after a hard fall during a 119-112 win on the road over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, Feb. 11. Morant has missed 22 games this season with injury or illness. He averages 20.7 points and 7.4 assists.
Memphis drops to 36-18. It was the third loss in their last seven contests. They fall to 8.5 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference standings, where they remain in second place
The Clippers improved to 30-23. They are currently in sixth place in the standings.
Memphis and the rest of the league will take a break for the 2025 All-Star Game in San Francisco, on Sunday, Feb 16. Along with Jaren Jackson Jr. ‘s selection, rookies Zach Edey and Wells are slated to play in the Castrol Rising Stars game.
