Red-hot Grizzlies vie for season sweep of Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers begin a three-game road swing on Tuesday with the unenviable task of trying to cool the streaking Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies claimed their fifth win in the last six games with a 135-115 rout of Orlando on Saturday.

Ja Morant set the pace with 33 points, marking his eighth performance of at least 30 points in the last nine outings. Voted a starter in the upcoming NBA All-Star Game, Morant bumped his scoring average to 26.4 points with his current hot streak.

Morant said Saturday that the Grizzlies are deflating the spirit of their opponents with early scoring bursts.

«We try to do that with every team we play,» Morant said. «Go out and send a message, keep our foot on the gas, then we start having a little bit of fun while (we’re) out there.»

Memphis has won the first quarter in each of its last six victories and has done so by an average margin of 9.2 points per game. Strong starts have helped propel the Grizzlies to 112.7 points per game, fifth-best in the NBA entering play Monday.

The Grizzlies are 18-4 since Dec. 26 and have scored at least 104 points in all but two games over that stretch.

Since Jan. 9, when it first played without second-leading scorer Dillon Brooks (18.4 points) due to an ankle sprain, Memphis has scored at least 114 points in 12 of 14 outings.

Desmond Bane has helped pick up the scoring slack with at least 20 points in 5 of 11 games played during Brooks’ absence. Jaren Jackson Jr. has seven games of 20 points or more since Jan. 9, including a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double Wednesday at New York.

Brooks’ last appearance on Jan. 8 was also the last time the Grizzlies and Clippers played each other. The guard sustained the ankle injury after just seven minutes of court time, while Morant also was out, but Jackson’s 26 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots saved the day. Bane’s 23 points and five made 3-pointers also helped in a 123-108 Memphis victory.

The Grizzlies are going for a season sweep of the Clippers, having also won Nov. 18 at Memphis, 120-108, while earning a 120-114 victory at Los Angeles on Oct. 23.

Since Dec. 26, the Clippers have been without Paul George, who scored 41 and 23 points in the first two matchups with the Grizzlies. The 24.7-point per game scorer last played Dec. 22 because of an elbow injury and will undergo an MRI on Feb. 24 to evaluate his healing.

Los Angeles is 10-13 since Dec. 26, including a 137-113 loss Sunday to Milwaukee.

Norman Powell scored a team-leading 28 points off the bench in his Clippers debut. Powell was acquired from Portland along with Robert Covington in a trade Friday for Eric Bledsoe, Keon Johnson, Justise Winslow and a second-round draft pick in 2025.

Powell is averaging 18.9 points per game on the season and adds scoring pop to a Los Angeles roster seeking consistency with George and Kawhi Leonard (knee) both out.

Powell was teammates with Leonard on the 2018-19 NBA champion Toronto Raptors. Leonard has not played this season due to a torn ACL sustained in last season’s playoffs.

«I was in every situation, every position with the Raptors and I’ve gone through a lot and I think all that has helped me and my game grow,» Powell said Sunday, according to ESPN.com.

–Field Level Media