At least it was a big night for Clippers’ Matt Barnes

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Matt Barnes was not going down without a fight.

Barnes scored a playoff career-high 30 points in Game 6 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series against Memphis on Friday night.

He played small forward and power forward, often having to defend Memphis star Zach Randolph.

Barnes made his first seven shots, including his first five three-point tries. Overall, he made 11 of 14 from the field, six of seven beyond the arc.

He also had a team-high 10 rebounds in almost 37 minutes, but the Clippers were eliminated by the Grizzlies.

Barnes, who will be a free agent this summer, was also called for a technical foul in the third quarter.

“We had to play Matt a lot at the four [power forward],” Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said. “But he played hard for us.”

Odom starts for Griffin

Lamar Odom started at power forward in place of Blake Griffin, who played limited minutes off the bench because of sprained ankle.

Odom had seven points, two rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes.

Hill finally plays

Grant Hill played for the first time in the series, coming in when Odom picked up his second foul in the first quarter.

Like Barnes, Hill had the task of trying to defend Randolph.

At least partly because Hill was playing out of position at power forward instead of small forward, he picked up three fouls in just over two minutes in the first quarter.

Hill finished with four points and four rebounds.

“I’m not really thinking about retiring,” said the 40-year-old Hill. “I said that earlier when I wasn’t playing. But it was a tough game for us. Blake wasn’t healthy.”

Billups struggles

It was not a good playoff series for Chauncey Billups.

The veteran guard made one of his four shots and scored just four points in Game 6.

Billups picked up three fouls in the first 8:32 of the first quarter, adding to his woes against Memphis.

He had a big turnover in the fourth quarter with the Clippers down by six points.

While trying to get back on defense, Billups got called for a flagrant foul on Mike Conley.

broderick.turner@latimes.com