Eric Bledsoe flung the ball into the air like he just won the national title on that Kentucky team this year. The former Wildcat contributed seven of his nine points in a wild fourth quarter, where many, including head coach Vinny Del Negro, thought the Clippers lost.
Down 95-71 with 8 minutes left, there was no chance of any Lob City comeback. LA was outscored 34-16 after the first quarter, and just never found any rhythm or made any kind of significant run.
The Grizzlies on the other hand, had everything going for them. The shots were falling, the ball was falling to them on the glass, and the crowd was in a frenzy from the opening tip.
But when Del Negro took out Chris Paul early in the fourth quarter down by 20+, CP3 just told his coach, “give us a chance.” And soon enough a 28-3 run happened in the blink of an eye.
Bledsoe, and newly acquired Nick Young, shot lights out for a five minute span as the Clippers clawed back. But it may have been the play of Reggie Evans. As DeAndre Jordan sat for poor shooting concerns, Evans, who is known for his hustle and not his shot, scored four points and grabbed eight rebounds. Evans, along with the quarterback CP3 sparked the team and got them believing they can win.
CP3 hit two clutch free throws after being fouled by Tony Allen to put LA up by one. And as Rudy Gay took Randy Foye to the hoop, his shot came up short and Blake Griffin grabbed the rebound. Before he could even quickly get fouled, he passed it to Bledsoe as if it was a hot potatoe, and Bledoe threw it up into the rafters and sent the Grizzlies and their fans home.
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