Clippers 96, Hornets 93: Blake Griffin scored 20 points and Chris Paul had 17 points and 14 assists as visiting Los Angeles rallied for a critical win.

The Clippers scored an astounding 31 points in the final 6:52 to keep pace with fifth-place Memphis in their battle for home-court advantage in a possible first-round matchup. Los Angeles, which also pulled within one game of Denver in the race for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, visits the Grizzlies on Saturday.

Eric Gordon led shorthanded New Orleans with 25 points. Robin Lopez chipped in 19, including 15 in the first half.

The Clippers led for most of the first half and took a 53-52 lead on a Griffin basket midway through the third quarter. Gordon replied with a hoop to ignite a 23-12 stretch that carried well into the fourth quarter and gave the Hornets a 10-point advantage before the visitors got hot.

Los Angeles hit three big 3-pointers down the stretch, including two by Jamal Crawford, and got a pair of Matt Barnes free throws with 91 seconds left to grab an 86-85 lead. A dunk by Eric Bledsoe with 25 seconds left made it 90-85 and six free throws by Paul in the final 17 seconds helped offset a late barrage from the perimeter by the Hornets.

GAME NOTEBOOK: New Orleans rookie F Anthony Davis is out for the remainder of the season after injuring his left knee Wednesday at Sacramento. PG Greivis Vasquez also sat this one out with a sore ankle. Brian Roberts, starting in place of Vasquez, had 15 points, including five in the final nine seconds. ... The Hornets made 17-of-32 free throws. ... Barnes had 16 points and Crawford 15. Both scored six points in the final four-plus minutes.