Clippers remain hot, roll past Grizzlies

Danilo Gallinari scored 27 points with 15 rebounds and Montrezl Harrell added 20 points as the Los Angeles Clippers moved into a tie for fifth place in the Western Conference with a 113-96 victory Sunday over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.

Lou Williams scored 17 points and JaMychal Green added 15 as the Clippers (47-31) drew even with the Utah Jazz, six games behind the first-place Golden State Warriors, but just two games behind the fourth-place Portland Trail Blazers.

The top four teams in the conference have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. All eight teams in the Western Conference playoffs are set with the teams still fighting it out for positioning.

Delon Wright scored 20 points and Chandler Parsons added 17 as the Grizzlies lost for the fourth time in their last six games and for the sixth time in their last nine games. Memphis has already been eliminated from playoff consideration.

Memphis was playing without guard Mike Conley, who was out with left ankle soreness a day after scoring 33 points in a comeback victory at Phoenix. The Grizzlies were also without Kyle Anderson (shoulder), Avery Bradley (shin), Jaren Jackson Jr. (thigh), C.J. Miles (foot) and Joakim Noah (knee).

One night after scoring 34 points with 20 rebounds, Memphis' Jonas Valanciunas left the game with 6:16 remaining in the third quarter following a right ankle injury. He scored nine points with seven rebounds.

The Clippers led by as many as 20 points in the first half and took a 61-46 lead into the break after shooting 26 free-throw attempts, making 22. They shot 52.9 percent from the field in the first two quarters.

The Clippers went back on the attack to open the second half, going on a 9-0 run to open a 70-46 lead and were able to put away their eighth victory in their last nine games from there. The only game the Clippers lost in that stretch was to the NBA-best Bucks at Milwaukee.

The Clippers finished 48 percent from the field and went 34 of 38 from the free-throw line in winning for the 13th time in their last 15 games, the best run in the NBA over that span. Los Angeles has the NBA's best winning percentage since Feb. 9, going 17-5 (.773) since then.

--Field Level Media