Both the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies came into Saturday's game battling for playoff positioning. The Clippers were looking to climb to the third seed with a win, while the Grizzlies were looking to gain an advantage at the second seed.

In a crucial matchup, the Clippers were the ones to come out on top, beating down the grit-and-grind Grizzlies, 94-86.

The Grizzlies came in without their floor general, Mike Conley, their defensive ace, Tony Allen, and lost Marc Gasol to an ankle injury early in the first half. 

As always, J.J. Redick ignited the Clippers in the first quarter, scoring the team's first seven points of the game. However, the Grizzlies still owned an early lead of 12-7, but Chris Paul and the Clippers charged right back. 

Paul was gracefully setting up his teammates in the first quarter, racking up six assists in the first 12. He was looking to push the pace by tossing outlet passes to his athletic bigs who were running the floor beautifully. Los Angeles possessed a five-point lead at the end of one, but Memphis remained within striking distance.

To begin the second half, the Clippers started off on fire, notching a 9-0 run to stretch their lead to seven and then later to 11. 

The resilient Grizzlies did not go away, though. They mastered a 10-0 run of their own to close the gap to one to end the third period. 

The game started to get chippy late in the third quarter, as Blake Griffin was pulled down to the ground by Kosta Koufos and later shoved in the back. Both players were hit with a technical. 

The back-and-forth physical battle continued in the final stanza, but the Clippers were able to pull away late thanks to back-to-back triples, one by Redick and the other by Paul. The Clippers closed out the game, 94-86, hitting clutch free throws down the stretch to seal it.

Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick earned team-high honors with 18 points apiece, while Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan recorded a double-double. Griffin also added eight rebounds, six assists, two steals, and a block. Paul finished with 15 points and 14 assists to go with five rebounds. Jordan scored 16 points and hauled in 16 boards, including three steals and two blocks. 

"We have been winning for a while," Paul said. "We understand how important every game is to getting home court advantage. It was a good win tonight. We will get ready for Denver on Monday. It is another big game for us." 

"We stayed calm and made stops on defense. We played in the open court and made some easy baskets. Guys made plays," Griffin chimed in. 

Jamal Crawford, in his second game back, scored 11 points on 3 of 11 shooting in 20 minutes. 

"He's just trying to get his rhythm back," Coach Doc Rivers said about Crawford. "It's going to take time. He was great yesterday, and then today, he lost his rhythm a little bit."

The Grizzlies were led by Zach Randolph's 21 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Without Marc Gasol, Randolph became the focal point of Memphis' offense. Jeff Green added 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists but shot 5 of 16 from the floor. Beno Udrih, who took Conley's spot at the point guard position, put in 14 points and three assists. 

Despite the loss, Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger was very pleased with his team's play tonight.

"I'm not worried [going forward]. I'm so proud of our guys," Coach Joerger said. "We played our tails off. We played for the next play. We held a very potent offensive team to 39.5% field goal percentage. I can't be prouder of this team." 

With the win, the Clippers have leap frogged the Portland Trail Blazers to take the third seed in the Western Conference and are tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for the second seed at 54-26. The Grizzlies own the tie breaker, however, as they are division leaders. 

"We would like to be second [in the Western Conference]," Redick said. "It would be nice to get that two seed. Obviously we are going to need some help. It has been an interesting season in terms of the flow of our team and the wins and the losses. But we are playing our best at the right time, and we still feel like we have another level to get to."

Each team has two more games remaining on their schedule. The Clippers will play the Denver Nuggets on Monday, April 13th, and finish out the season in Phoenix against the Suns. 

The Grizzlies have a tough one coming up against the Golden State Warriors on the road on Monday and will finish the season playing the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, April 15th.