Gay, Randolph each score 21 points, lead Grizzlies over Clippers 106-91

Gay, Randolph lead Grizzlies over Clippers 106-91

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph scored 21 points apiece and the Memphis Grizzlies won their second straight, 106-91 over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.

Marc Gasol and O.J. Mayo finished with 16 points each as Memphis shot 54 percent from the field. Gasol also had eight rebounds and six assists and set a club record for consecutive field goals made, making 15 straight over a two-game span before a miss in the third period.

Baron Davis led the Clippers with 23 points, and Chris Kaman finished with 17. Ricky Davis and Craig Smith each scored 12 points.

All of Gay’s points came in the second half.

The Grizzlies hit their first seven shots, including four by Gasol, who was 8 of 8 in Saturday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Gasol hit three more before a miss with 3:52 left in the third quarter, breaking Tony Massenburg’s record established in 1999.

Memphis shot 59 percent in the first half and carried a 55-45 lead into the break. Randolph and Gasol scored 14 points apiece, while Mayo had 12 points. The trio was a combined 16 of 20 from the field.

But the Clippers initially kept pace as Kaman missed only one of his first five shots, and Baron Davis scored 15 of the Clippers’ 23 points in the first period. Kaman had the other eight.

Davis ended up with 20 points in the half, while Kaman had 12.

Already leading by double digits, Memphis opened the third period with a 9-2 run. That Grizzlies would eventually lead by 22 points in the third and were up 82-64 at the end of the period.

The Clippers, using their reserves for more defensive intensity, were able to get within 13 in the fourth, but never got closer, dropping their fifth in the last six.

NOTES: Clippers C Marcus Camby left the game in the first quarter with a lower back contusion and did not return. Clippers G Davis recorded five assists, leaving him five short of 5,000 for his career. Grizzlies G Jamaal Tinsley, signed to a contract last Saturday, appeared in his first game since the middle of the 2007-08 season. Tinsley, who picked up two quick fouls after entering in the first quarter, played six minutes and did not score. Clippers G Eric Gordon was out with a strained groin. The Clippers are 1-8 when the second-year guard out of Indiana doesn’t play. Also inactive was G Kareem Rush, who tore his right ACL in Tuesday night’s game at New Orleans. The injury will be reevaluated when the Clippers return home to Los Angeles. Grizzlies C Hasheem Thabeet, the second pick in last year’s draft, played 12 minutes. Coach Lionel Hollins said the rookie will begin to get more playing time. “I just think he needs to play,” Hollins said, adding, “You look at the situation, where we are, do I play guys who really aren’t the future? I decided he’s got to get out there and take his lumps.”