Zach Randolph had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and the Grizzlies returned to form by beating the Clippers 94-82 last night in Memphis to pull to 2-1 in the first-round series.
Memphis snapped the Clippers’ nine-game winning streak by outrebounding and dominating on second-chance points, the same things Los Angeles did so well on its home court to start the series. Game 4 is tomorrow in Memphis.
Marc Gasol accepted his trophy as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year before tipoff, then scored 16 points. Quincy Pondexter and Tony Allen had 13 each, and Mike Conley was 1 of 9 but had 10 assists.
Blake Griffin scored 16 points for the Clippers. Matt Barnes had 12, Chauncey Billups 11 and Jamal Crawford and Caron Butler 10. Chris Paul had eight points on 4-of-11 shooting and added six assists.
Heat 104, Bucks 91
In Milwaukee, Ray Allen scored 23 points and broke the NBA career playoff record for 3-pointers as the Heat beat the Bucks to take a 3-0 lead in their first-round series.
The Heat can complete the sweep in Game 4 on Sunday at the Bradley Center. No team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a series in the NBA playoffs.
Allen’s five 3-pointers against the Bucks gave him 322 for his career, two more than Reggie Miller.
“That’s been our calling card all year, the depth that we have,” Allen said.
LeBron James added 22 points for the Heat, and Chris Bosh had 16 points and 14 rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored just four points, but had 11 assists. Larry Sanders and Brandon Jennings led the Bucks with 16 points each.