Clippers get a uniformly ugly win over Grizzlies

A night after playing with emotion, determination and a chip on their shoulders, the Clippers looked drained and not as focused against the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night.

No, Memphis is not the Lakers, but the Grizzlies are a talented, athletic group that lost last season in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Clippers were forced to grind through the back-to-back game to pull out a 98-91 victory over the Grizzlies at Staples Center.

It took all the energy the Clippers had to escape the Grizzlies, the game not being decided until late.

It took Blake Griffin almost producing a triple-double for the Clippers to get this one. Griffin had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

It took Chris Paul, playing in his second game after missing the previous five with a strained left hamstring, scoring 18 points, grabbing seven rebounds and handing out seven assists.

Rudy Gay did his part to keep the Grizzlies in the game, scoring 24 points.

The Grizzlies have been playing without forward Zach Randolph, who is out with a right knee injury, but they still have played hard with good defense.

Even when the Clippers built an 89-80 lead, the Grizzlies didn’t quit.

O.J. Mayo (14 points), the former USC star, made a three-pointer and one of two free throws and Marc Gasol made two free throws with 2:37 left to pull the Grizzlies to within 89-86.

After Paul scored, Gay made one of two free throws, but the Clippers failed to secure the defensive rebound. Gasol outhustled the Clippers and was fouled by Mo Williams (18 points).

Gasol made both free throws, pulling the Grizzlies to within 91-89 with 1:19 left.

That made Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro call a timeout.

Caron Butler scored on a baseline drive for a 93-89 Clippers lead.

Then the Clippers dug down on defense, with Paul and Butler double-teaming Gay.

Paul stripped Gay of the ball and was fouled. He made both free throws for a 95-89 Clippers advantage with 45.9 seconds left.

“We never found our rhythm tonight,” Del Negro said. “Everything was a grind, but we found a way.”

Both teams wore uniforms to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the American Basketball Assn., by wearing commemorative uniforms from the ABA.

The Clippers wore those of the Los Angeles Stars and Memphis had one the ones from the Tams, but neither team showed the offensive exploits those teams from the ABA displayed back in the 1970s, when they routinely scored in the 120s.

However, it began like one of those high-scoring ABA games.

The Clippers bolted out to a 16-point lead in the first half, building a 29-17 lead after the first quarter, shooting 63.2% from the field. They were four for six (66.7%) from three-point range.

Then it turned into boring affair, the Clippers getting bogged down in poor offensive execution, showing nothing of what they displayed in the first quarter.

They scored 16 points in the second quarter. They made 29.4% of their shots, going one for seven on three-pointers.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies got back in it, scoring 27 points while shooting 52.6% from the field.

More important for the Grizzlies, their defense picked up and made it tough on the Clippers.

“Memphis is very aggressive defensively,” Del Negro said before the game. “We have to be very fundamentally sound, limit our turnovers. …We know we have our hands full tonight.”

broderick.turner@latimes.com

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