March 7, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center Brook Lopez (11) handles the ball while Memphis Grizzlies forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper (18) defends during the fourth quarter at the FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Image The Los Angeles Clippers aim to hit .500 for the first time since early in the season when they host the New York Knicks on Monday night.
The Clippers fell to last place at .500 on November 3 after losing to the Miami Heat and falling to 3-3. The setback was the first in 19 of 22 games as Los Angeles fell to 6-21.
The Clippers have had two recent opportunities to break even, but lost both times, including a 116-112 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.
Los Angeles got back on track one night later with a 123-120 win over the host Memphis Grizzlies.
The win was the Clippers’ fourth in five games, and coach Tyronn Lue was impressed with the win, which came on the second end of a back-to-back.
“The guys were tired.” Lu said. “We had a tough loss (Friday) night, but we stayed positive and told the guys to keep pushing and keep running.
“Starting with our defense, we were able to make some stops, transition and score goals.”
The Grizzlies exploded with 41 points in the first quarter and were up to 19 before Los Angeles scored 35 points in the second quarter.
Kawhi Leonard had 28 points, Darius Garland had 21 points, and reserve Benedict Maturin had 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Backup forward Isaiah Jackson was acquired along with Mathurin in the deal that sent big man Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers. He made a big contribution off the bench Saturday with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
“He plays hard and competes,” Lu said of Jackson. “He’s a guy who can transition and guard the basketball, get offensive rebounds, run the floor and get behind the defense in pick-and-rolls.
“…It was just a game for him, and we needed his athleticism and his ability to transition. He did a good job for us.”
The game against the Knicks is the first of a five-game homestand for the Clippers. This is also the third of a five-game road trip for New York.
The Knicks defeated the Denver Nuggets 142-103 on Friday night and lost 110-97 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
New York never led against Los Angeles and fell behind by as many as 23 points. The Knicks were sloppy and committed 19 turnovers.
“(The Lakers) had something to do with it. They’re a great team,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “… But I thought there were some things we could control that we didn’t manage well, and that’s the frustrating part. We didn’t give ourselves much of a chance to win the ballgame at any point and that’s frustrating.”
New York had a 3-point success rate of only 8 out of 34 (23.5%) and was unable to take advantage of LeBron James’ injury absence.
Brown was particularly annoyed by the fact that Los Angeles held a 15-9 advantage in second-chance points.
“It’s our second chance to get 15 points,” Brown said. “That’s something we can’t give up on. We can’t win in that area and that was because of our inability to box out and put bodies to the body.”
Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds and Jalen Brunson added 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Knicks.
Michal Bridges went scoreless for 27 minutes and missed all six shots (four 3-pointers).
Brunson scored 26 points in the Knicks’ 123-111 home win over the Clippers on Jan. 7. Leonard scored 25 points for Los Angeles.
–Field level media
