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Tale of two halves leads to Memphis Grizzlies' third straight loss on road trip
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- Tale of two halves leads to Memphis Grizzlies' third straight loss on road trip
A matchup between the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night started as a basketball game, but ended as a chess match in which Memphis folded.
The Grizzlies moved first, making two unexpected starting lineup changes, with Scotty Pippen Jr. and Santi Aldama replacing Luke Kennard and Zach Edey. That starting group looked dominant, forcing the Clippers to make a change.
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They adjusted by taking Kris Dunn out of the starting lineup at halftime and inserting the offensive-minded Bogdan Bogdanovic . That change ignited the Clippers' offense and put the Grizzlies in a bind. They struggled in the second half and lost to the Clippers 128-108 in Los Angeles.
Memphis (43-28) has now lost its past three games, and six straight against the Clippers (40-30).
Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 23 points, but he shot only 9-for-24 from the field. Desmond Bane played through lower back soreness and finished with 10 points in 33 minutes.
New lineup shows promise
Memphis was without Ja Morant for the third consecutive game. The Grizzlies have started Kennard and Bane as a backcourt tandem in recent games without Morant, but coach Taylor Jenkins turned to Pippen on Friday.
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Pippen's tenacious defense and ability to knock down shots have been positives this season. He showed those same traits against the Clippers. He finished with 15 points and five assists while making six of his nine shots. Aldama showcased his ability as a floor spacer, and had 16 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
If Morant misses more time, it will be intriguing to see if Jenkins take another look at this combination or goes back to Edey and Kennard.
Perimeter defensive issues rise again
Clippers coach Ty Lue forced Memphis to defend. The Grizzlies used Jackson as a roamer on Dunn in the first half. Lue took away that option when he put Bogdanovic in the game.
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Jackson then had to guard Kawhi Leonard , and there were no more easy matchups. The Clippers scored 36 points in the third quarter. As a result, their defense was able to get set and hold Memphis to 16 points in the quarter.
Memphis has struggled in the second half of the season guarding on the perimeter. James Harden exploited those issues, finishing with 30 points and nine assists.
What's next
This road trip has been a disaster for the Grizzlies. They are 0-3 and making it harder on themselves as they seek a preferable seeding position for the postseason.
Memphis will get three days off before its next game, which is Tuesday against the Jazz (16-55) in Utah. That will give the Grizzlies time to practice and make adjustments to correct the current issues.
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Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Grizzlies lose to Clippers in third straight on the road
