And yet these Clippers who are so new to the playoffs, these Clippers who had (Chris) Paul playing with a mild left groin strain, these Clippers who lost Caron Butler in the third quarter to a fractured left hand, pulled out a victory to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series and to take away the home-court advantage from Memphis.

“We put a mask on and robbed that one,” said Blake Griffin, who had eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter.

The Clippers outscored Memphis 35-13 in the fourth quarter. They ended the game on a 28-3 run.

The Clippers shot 76.5% in the fourth, 83.3% (five for six) on three-pointers. They held Memphis to 26.3% shooting (five for 19) in the final 12 minutes.

via Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times