MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It wasn’t so much a third quarter as it was a bludgeoning, the kind of statement of intent that the Memphis Grizzlies — brash and unapologetic for it all season — have shouted for anyone to hear on their way to the NBA’s third-best record.
Trailing by just 12 points two minutes into third quarter in FedEx Forum on Tuesday, the Clippers were gamely hanging around despite numerous ways they’d tried to allow a Grizzlies blowout in the first half. Just eight minutes later they trailed by 30, Memphis making its move like its All-Star guard Ja Morant — fast and ruthless.
The Clippers had already lost three times to Memphis this season through a similar blueprint, with the Grizzlies perpetually tougher and playing with more physicality. But the season sweep-ensuring defeat was this matchup at its most lopsided, a 135-109 defeat that was decided in the final minutes of the third quarter.
