Clippers Chase Blues Away in Memphis

Everything favored the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Clippers had lost 10 of 11 road games since November. They hadn’t won on the road against a team that currently has a winning record since the second week of the season, almost three months ago. Against the four teams directly in front of them in the Western Conference standings, they’d lost eight of nine.

And they trailed the Grizzlies by 18 points in the third quarter.

But behind a determined Marko Jaric, the Clippers rallied Thursday night for a 106-103 victory in front of 14,697 in FedExForum, opening an eight-game trip with their fifth win in six games and again climbing back to .500.

They’d lost their last six road games and their last seven games against the Grizzlies before overcoming a 66-48 third-quarter deficit.

“I didn’t like to give them the lead that they had,” Jaric said. “I knew if we started playing stronger on defense, we’re going to come back. That’s what we did. They got confused a little bit in their offense and we came up much, much stronger on defense and we got open shots, open fastbreaks.”

The Clippers made 11 of 14 shots in the fourth quarter while outscoring the Grizzlies, 32-21. The Grizzlies made seven of 19 and also missed five of 10 free throws.

Bobby Simmons scored 26 points and Jaric had 25 for the Clippers, Jaric’s scoring 16 in the third quarter on six-of-seven shooting and Simmons’ breaking out of a three-game shooting slump to make all but two of his 12 shots. Simmons’ three-point play with 1:30 remaining put the Clippers ahead to stay, 97-95.

Elton Brand scored 17 points and took 11 rebounds for his 10th double-double in 12 games and reserve center Zeljko Rebraca scored 14 points.

Seven players scored in double figures for the Grizzlies, who played without four of their top seven players, among them injured starters Pau Gasol and James Posey.

Mike Miller scored 16 points. Jason Williams scored 15 and Lorenzen Wright had 14 points and 10 rebounds. But none could stop the Clippers, who again played without injured scoring leader Corey Maggette, from sending the Grizzlies to only their second loss in their last 12 home games.

“It’s very important for our confidence,” guard Rick Brunson said of the Clippers’ first victory outside Staples Center since Jan. 3, when they won at Denver. “This is a very good [Grizzly] team. This is a playoff team. Down 18, we beat them. And now we play the East Coast teams that we should be able to beat. It’s a good way to start out.”

The Clippers (23-23) are 10-3 against the East, but they were 12-20 against the West when the Grizzlies extended a seven-point halftime lead by opening the third quarter with a 13-2 run, making their first five shots of the second half and seemingly burying the Clippers in an 18-point hole at the 8:29 mark.

From that point, though, the Grizzlies made only 38.7% of their shots. The Clippers, meanwhile, made 19 of 23, an 82.6% success rate, and climbed out.

Overall, they made 59.7% of their shots, their highest shooting percentage since they made 62.9% in a 30-point opening-night victory over the Seattle SuperSonics and the first time this season they’ve made as many as 50% on the road.

“We just got our game together,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “Defensively, we did a lot of good things and started taking care of the ball better. We had a good flow. We started moving the ball from side to side better. We got good shots.”

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CLIPPERS TONIGHT

at Milwaukee, 5:30 PST

Site -- Bradley Center.

Radio -- KTLK (1150).

Records -- Clippers 23-23, Bucks 16-27.

Record vs. Bucks (2003-04) -- 2-0.

Update -- The Clippers are 10-3 against Eastern Conference opponents. The Bucks, idle since ending a three-game losing streak Tuesday night with a 91-86 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, are last in the Central Division and have the third-worst record in the East.