LOS ANGELES — James Harden was listed as questionable heading into Clippers versus Grizzlies, and even though he suited up, LA struggled heavily against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Allowing 31 and 27 points to Jaren Jackson Jr. and Cam Spencer, respectively, doomed the Clippers. LA turned the ball over 18 times while only forcing 11 giveaways, and couldn’t get big-man Ivica Zubac involved on offense. Zubac finished with a measly 6 points in 33 minutes after putting up 33 points the game before against the Rockets.
The loss marked LA’s fourth in a row and ninth out of its last 10 games. Grizzlies guard Ja Morant only notched 12 points in his second game back from injury, but Spencer and Jackson Jr. backed up his inconsistent night. Memphis scored on each of its last eight possessions to end the third quarter, a frame the Clippers have significantly faltered in this season.
Jordan Miller led the Clippers’ bench unit with 10 points. Kris Dunn’s positive night was a silver lining, as he dropped 17 points with five assists, a plus-5 rating and only one turnover. Harden only had 13 points, his lowest figure in two weeks.
The Clippers head to Oklahoma City next to face the league-best Thunder. Talk of Troy reporter Kasey Kazliner was at Intuit Dome and broke down Clippers-Grizzlies on Unclipped, TOT’s Clippers podcast.