Clippers falter after halftime without Kawhi Leonard and lose to Grizzlies

To reach the Memphis locker room after his pregame warmup Friday, the Grizzlies’ Luke Kennard had to first pass by a Clippers bench populated by a few of his former assistant coaches. Stopping to chat, Kennard playfully asked whether the Clippers, whose suffocating defense two nights earlier limited him to attempt three three-pointers, would finally allow him the room to play.

Over the next two hours, Kennard would get his chances — sneaking away from defenders to try 10 three-pointers and make five en route to scoring 17 points.

But it wasn’t Kennard alone who made the Clippers’ night miserable at FedEx Forum during a 108-94 loss that dropped them to 41-37 this season. The Clippers accomplished that by themselves.

Sharp for just one quarter, with Kawhi Leonard available for just one half, the Clippers couldn’t overcome mistakes of their own making to lose ground in the Western Conference playoff race.

Leonard played 18 minutes in the first half, scoring 12 points, but didn’t play after halftime because he intends to play Saturday night in New Orleans. It would mark the first time he has played on consecutive days in two seasons, but for him to play in the second game, the Clippers stuck with a plan to lighten his workload during the first.

With Eric Gordon also missing the second half because of a sore right hip, the Clippers were outscored by 10 points in the third quarter to enter the fourth down 14. Though a group of reserves, including two-way contract players Xavier Moon and Moussa Diabate, cut the fourth-quarter deficit to 11 points, Memphis reinserted its starters and reasserted control.

Norman Powell scored 16 points to lead the Clippers, and Ivica Zubac had 15 points and 15 rebounds. One game after a brilliant offensive performance in which they combined to shoot 12 for 12 on three-pointers, Russell Westbrook (four points) and Robert Covington (two points) combined to go 0 for 4 from long distance.

The Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane, right, steals the ball from the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac, middle. Memphis’ Dillon Brooks is at left. Zubac had 15 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.

(Brandon Dill / Associated Press)

At tipoff, three fans wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with “WESTBRICK” across the chest took their courtside seats only feet from the Clippers’ sideline. Westbrook, who despises the nickname, promptly dribbled upcourt on the first possession and scored to open a virtually flawless start.

Within three minutes, the Clippers opened a 10-point lead, their execution sharp in ways in which they had stumbled two nights earlier while falling behind by 13.

Entering the game off the bench late in the first quarter, Powell and Terance Mann quickly made differences, Powell sinking a three-pointer to extend the lead to 28-12 and force a Memphis timeout. Mann, handed the assignment of chasing around former teammate Kennard, draped himself on the sharpshooter, who had made 53% of his three-pointers since being traded in February. Mann drew an offensive foul before running Kennard out of bounds.

When Leonard checked out with two minutes remaining, the Clippers’ lead was 16. One minute later, it was 20, a lead built on crisp execution. When that failed, the Clippers’ lead cratered. They were outscored 41-17 to trail at halftime by four.

The lead slipped away as the Clippers lost Kennard for four second-quarter three-pointers. Clippers coaches yelled at defenders to keep track of a shooter whose habits they know so well.

The Grizzlies’ Luke Kennard had a big night against his former team, the Clippers. He made five three-pointers and scored 17 points.

(Brandon Dill / Associated Press)

The momentum turned through careless mistakes. Memphis turned Clippers turnovers into 12 points in the second quarter. Gordon’s pass upcourt to Leonard, who wasn’t expecting the pass, was easily stolen and turned into a three-pointer by Desmond Bane. A few minutes later after a defensive stop, Zubac threw a pass to no one that was caught feet from the hoop and turned into a layup.

Lineups with four guards did not help, getting outscored by 13 points during the Grizzlies’ run.

When the game as over, the fans in the “WESTBRICK” T-shirts happily posed for a picture. They got what they had come for. The Clippers, not so much.