Grizzlies Top Clippers

A 20-point victory isn't a big thing for some NBA teams. For Vancouver, it's a record.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Grizzlies won by the largest margin in their history, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 109-89 Sunday night.

The Grizzlies bounced back from Friday's 103-93 loss to Golden State and evened their record at 3-3.

"We had to come out and play with a lot of energy and a lot of heart," said Abdur-Rahim.

"That's a nice sign from our basketball team that I think we're moving forward," said Grizzlies coach Brian Hill.

The 20-point victory margin topped Vancouver's previous best, a 16-point win over San Antonio on Dec. 6, 1996.

Their 27-point lead in the fourth quarter was the biggest the club has ever enjoyed. And the Grizzlies shot a franchise-record 71.4 percent from the field in the second half, eclipsing the previous best for one half of 65 percent.

The Clippers fell apart after forward Maurice Taylor sprained his left foot in the second quarter while going for a rebound.

"We were up 12 when I walked off the court to go in to get X-rays," Taylor said. "After I got X-rays, we were down 11. We just played bad. We played horrible."

Taylor's foot will be re-examined on Monday.

"As far as I know, we'll treat it tomorrow and do whatever I can do to get healthy," he said.

After outscoring the Clippers 27-17 in the second quarter to take a 47-42 halftime lead, the Grizzlies took control by opening the third quarter with a 12-4 run that featured an alley-oop dunk by Abdur-Rahim and a 3-pointer by Dickerson.

Lamar Odom lethe Clippers with 18 points and 12 rebounds in a meeting of the NBA's two worst teams last season. Michael Olowokandi added 14 points and 11 boards for the Clippers, who have lost six straight road games dating back to last season.

The biggest cheer of the night came with 5:33 left in the game when a dunk by Joe Stephens gave Vancouver a 101-75 lead. By topping 100 points, the Grizzlies earned a free spaghetti dinner at a local restaurant for the 12,774 fans at the game.

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