Paul George drained seven 3-pointers en route to a game-high 37 points as the visiting Los Angeles Clippers beat the banged-up Memphis Grizzlies 128–119 on Friday night.
George sank 12 of 18 shots overall for Los Angeles, which also got 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting from Kawhi Leonard.
Amir Coffey chipped in 13 points and Russell Westbrook went for 12 for the Clippers. James Harden paired 11 points with a game-high nine assists.
Already without guards Ja Morant (shoulder) for the season and Marcus Smart (finger) for at least six weeks, Memphis lost Desmond Bane to a left ankle sprain with 5:05 left in the third quarter.
Bane had 15 points and three assists in 23 minutes of action before his departure.
Jaren Jackson Jr. posted 21 points and six boards for the Grizzlies, who were outshot 55.1 percent to 43.2 percent from the floor. Xavier Tillman contributed 20 points and nine rebounds.
The Clippers virtually put the game away in the third quarter, opening up an 18-point cushion just 2:25 into the frame following a pair of free throws from Ivica Zubac.
A 6-2 spurt pulled Memphis within 79–65 with 7:31 remaining in the third, but when Leonard made a floater just over 3 1/2 minutes later, Los Angeles was ahead 91–68.
After taking a 100–79 lead into the fourth, the Clippers never let the Grizzlies get closer than nine the rest of the way.
Bane got off to a hot start, scoring 10 points in the first quarter to help Memphis grab a 26–23 edge.
It didn’t take long for the Grizzlies’ lead to evaporate, though, as Los Angeles scored 13 of the first 16 points of the second to go up 36–29 with 9:37 left in the period.
That run set the tone for the rest of the quarter, one in which the Clippers canned 16 of 21 field-goal attempts, including their first 11. George headlined the charge with 11 points in the final 4:57 of the first half, sending Los Angeles into the break with a 65–53 advantage.
George led all scorers with 17 points before intermission, while Tillman paced Memphis with 13.
