NBA Playoffs 2012: Grizzlies Blow 4th Quarter lead, Trail 2-1.

For much of the second half of Saturday’s game 3 of the western conference first-round series, the Memphis Grizzlies seemed to be in control of the game.

Yet when the smoke cleared, Memphis had dropped a close, one-point game to the Los Angeles Clippers to go down a game in the best-of-seven series.

Sound familiar? It should.   For the second time in three games, the Grizzlies squandered a game that looked to be in hand.

While Memphis didn’t blow a 27 point lead in this game, it was just as damaging, and probably most disappointing when you consider how tough it is to win on the road in the playoffs.  The Grizzlies did everything right for the first three quarters, and forgot how to score in the fourth.

Memphis only shot 40% for the game, which is very low, but they only hit three field goals in the entire fourth period.  Two of those shots were three-pointers by Rudy Gay when the game seemed to be out of reach.

However, the back-to-back threes, and two potentially big missed free throws from Eric Bledsoe gave the Grizzlies the chance to hit a game-winning shot.

The Grizzles rebounded the second miss and got it down the floor, but a contested Rudy Gay jump shot missed and the Clippers celebrated a win that seemed unlikely just one quarter before.

The Clippers were led by league MVP candidate Chris Paul who had his second straight excellent game with 24 points and 11 assists.  Coming into the series, many thought that Paul would be the best player on either team, and so far that idea has played out as he has gotten to wherever he wants to and has created shots for all his teammates.

Blake Griffin had a good game with 17 points and the Clippers got a good performance from Randy Foye as well, who had 16 points.  Those were the only three Clippers in double figures, but in such a low-scoring game, that was all they needed as Los Angeles out-executed Memphis down the stretch.

The Grizzlies looked to be back in business after winning game 2 at home and controlling most of game 3, but are left with more questions than answers ahead of Monday’s crucial game 4 at Staples Center.

Rudy Gay had a team-high 24 points on 5-13 shooting, but hit 12 of the 15 free throws that he attempted, as well the two big threes late in that game that brought the Grizzlies back from the brink to having an opportunity to steal a huge road win.

Again, Coach Hollins’ rotations have to be questioned as Zach Randolph was the first guy to get going for Memphis, scoring 6 quick points in the first quarter and then sitting down for 9 minutes of game time.  When he re-entered, he wasn’t getting the looks that he did before he left the game.

The biggest play of the game came on a controversial foul on Marc Gasol midway through the fourth quarter.  The call gave Gasol his fifth personal and forced Hollins to go to his bench to try and hold the fort until Gasol could return.

The Clippers had six big second-chance points before Gasol came back and went from being down six to being up four, the outcome all but decided.

The loss was certainly disappointing, but the Grizzlies will have something to build on going into Monday’s do-or-die game 4.  Teams have rallied from being down 3-1 to win a series in the past, but it’s a tall order.  If the Grizzlies can win game 4, however, they’re back in control of the series, with home-court back on their side.

The Grizzlies know they can compete with the Clippers, but they need to work on closing these games out, or their dreams of an extended playoff run may end quicker than they anticipated.