Los Angeles Clippers guard J.J. Redick (No 4) and Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (No 11) reach for a rebound in the first-half of the NBA game in Los Angeles. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports

AFP/Los Angeles

Mike Conley had a crucial steal in the final seconds then sank two free throws with 1.5 seconds left on the clock as Memphis edged the Los Angeles Clippers 90-87 on Monday.
Conley, who finished with 18 points and seven assists, forced Clippers star Chris Paul to turn the ball over with three seconds remaining to seal the win for the Grizzlies.  
Jeff Green tallied 16 points and six rebounds and Marc Gasol added 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks for Memphis, who have won four of their last five contests.
“We were sluggish in the beginning, but we did a better job in the second half,” said Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger.
Paul finished with 30 points and 10 assists but allowed Conley to poke the ball away from him with the game on the line. DeAndre Jordan finished with 17 rebounds for the Clippers, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.
“We gave ourselves a chance, it comes down to execution and I didn’t execute on that last play,” Paul said.
Paul made a layup to pull the Clippers within 83-80 with over three minutes left. Conley then banked in a field goal and Courtney Lee drained a three pointer to give Memphis an 88-80 lead with 2:28 to go. It was the Grizzlies’ largest lead of the contest.
Los Angeles went on a 7-0 surge to get back in it.
Paul sunk a pair of foul shots, J J Redick nailed one from beyond the arc and Paul hit a jump shot with 70 seconds left to cut the deficit to 88-87.
Zach Randolph missed a left wing jumper and Redick corralled the rebound with just over 15 seconds.
Paul then turned the ball over and Conley went on to hit two free throws to increase the lead to 90-87. The Clippers also turned the ball over on their final possession. The Clippers led 22-21 at the end of the first quarter and 44-38 at halftime.

Snell powers Bulls past Bucks
Tony Snell came off the bench to deliver 20 points as the Chicago Bulls posted their sixth victory in their last seven NBA contests with a 87-71 win over Milwaukee on Monday.
Snell recorded his third 20-point game in his last five for Chicago who also dominated on the glass with a 62-41 rebounding edge. Snell had posted just one 20 point game in his career prior to his latest hot streak.
Nikola Mirotic tallied 16 points and 14 rebounds off the bench as he and Snell were given extra playing time Monday because of an illness to sixth man Taj Gibson.
Pau Gasol finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Jimmy Butler scored 11 and had nine rebounds and Joakim Noah grabbed a game-high 16 boards at the United Center Arena.
“We hit the glass pretty well,” said Noah.
Khris Middleton paced the Buck’s attack with 17 points and Ersan Ilyasova had 15 points and 11 rebounds in a rare start. The Bucks shot 33.7 percent from the floor and missed all but four of their 18 three-point attempts.
“It was not a hot shooting performance by either team,” said Bucks coach Jason Kidd. “We had some great looks that just didn’t go down for us.”
Derrick Rose scored five points during a 7-0 run early in the game that gave the Bulls a lead that it would keep for the remainder of the contest. Snell scored five points during a 9-0 surge later in the opening quarter, and the Bulls led 21-15 heading into the second.
Chicago busted the game open early in the second quarter, as Snell’s three pointer at 5:25 extended the lead to 37-19.
Milwaukee never got close the rest of the way.