Chris Paul begged coach Vinny Del Negro to put him back into the game for the fourth quarter and not give up despite being down 21 points.

The result was another Clippers comeback – one of the greatest in NBA playoff history.

Paul hit a pair of free throws with 23.7 seconds left, and the Clippers rallied from a deficit that had been as much as 27 to stun the Memphis Grizzlies 99-98 Sunday night in the opening game of their Western Conference series.

The Clippers tied the NBA playoff record for largest deficit overcome at the end of three quarters, when they trailed by 21.

via Teresa Walker of The Associated Press