INGLEWOOD — This was how the Clippers were expected to perform when the season began, before injuries took a toll and long before the pieces began to fit.
For the first time in weeks, the Clippers played aggressive defense, disrupting more than a dozen layups and tip-ins, got double-digit scoring from each of their top two stars and limited their opponents to five fast-break points.
That long-awaited inspired play lasted for all of 24 minutes, as the Clippers faded in the second half and lost to the Memphis Grizzlies, 112-107, on Friday night in their first game back at the Intuit Dome after a seven-game trip.
The loss, their sixth straight on their home court, eliminated the Clippers from NBA Cup play. They could have potentially qualified for the knockout round with a win and other favorable results around the league.
After a solid first half, the Clippers (5-14) let up again, this time allowing the Grizzlies, who struggled with the easiest of shots early on, to take their first lead at 87-85, less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. Memphis had trailed, 63-50, at halftime.
Vince Williams Jr. gave the Grizzlies an 89-85 lead moments later on a 9-foot floater, setting up what appeared to be another letdown by the Clippers.
Kawhi Leonard, however, scored six consecutive points that shook the Clippers out of their doldrums and into a brief two-point (91-89) lead with 8:10 to play.
The Grizzlies (8-12) then went on a tear, scoring 10 consecutive points to open a 103-95 lead and the momentum to close out the game.
“Some guys can be running out of gas at times,” Coach Tyronn Lue said before the game. “I think (they are) getting tired, taking shortcuts or just mentally fatigued, I don’t know. But like I said, we are prepared.”
Yet, no matter how many times Lue has preached those points, the players either haven’t listened or couldn’t keep pace with their opponents for a full 48 minutes.
Still, there were positive signs.
Leonard shook off the fogginess that marked his first two games after a 10-game absence because of ankle and foot injuries and finished with a team-high 39 points, including his third 3-pointer with seven seconds left that could have set the Clippers up for a last-second victory.
But Memphis tacked on two free throws by Jaylen Wells that secured the victory.
James Harden added 23 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists for the Clippers (5-14), and Ivica Zubac had nine points and 11 rebounds.
Speaking before the game, Leonard said the Clippers, who have now lost 12 of their past 14 games, needed to play with a sense of urgency, make it harder on the opponents’ top offensive threats and “try to win.” And they did just that for a time.
The Clippers gave themselves a chance to win in the first half, building a 63-50 lead at the intermission behind Leonard’s 18 points and Harden’s 17.
Mostly, the Clippers took advantage of the Grizzlies’ inability to score inside to take a double-digit lead into halftime. Memphis, one of the better one-on-one attacking teams, shot 17 for 44 from the floor in the first half, missing at least a dozen easy layups or tip-ins.
It’s that kind of interior defense that has been lacking for the Clippers at times this season.
“Mentally, we gotta be better, gotta be sharper,” Lue said. “… Not that the guys are not trying, just that we gotta be more locked in to details and understand what we’re gonna do.”
Jaren Jackson Jr. had a team-high 24 points for the Grizzlies (8-12). Six other Memphis players scored in double figures.
NOTE
Clippers point guard Chris Paul received a video tribute in his first home game since announcing he would retire at the end of the season. Paul finished with five points and two rebounds in 15 minutes.
More to come on this story.