A couple of former University of Connecticut stars shined in the first half at Staples Center on Thursday night, as Rudy Gay scored 15 points and Caron Butler poured in 13 points. Butler's 19-footer with 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter gave the Los Angeles Clippers a 45-44 lead at halftime over Gay's Memphis Grizzlies Thursday night at Staples Center.
The Clippers used a 20-5 run in the first quarter to build a 16-point lead, fueled by eight points from Butler and seven points and three assists from Chris Paul in the opening 12 minutes. Then the Clippers went nearly seven minutes without a basket, missing six straight shots from the end of the first quarter into the second, fueling a 17-2 Memphis run to cut the Clippers' lead to just a single point.
Blake Griffin scored 11 points and had four assists for the Clippers, who shot 47.2% (17 for 36) in the first half. Memphis shot 42.5% (17 for 40) in the opening half, and both teams had 18 rebounds.
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