MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Rookie Cedric Coward had 23 points and 14 rebounds, part of five Memphis players reaching double figures, and the Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Clippers 107-98 on Friday night.
Cam Spencer and Jaylen Wells had 17 points each and Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 13 points as Memphis won for the sixth time in eight games. Zach Edey had 10 points and eight rebounds.
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Los Angeles Clippers guard Cam Christie (12) comes up with a rebound as Memphis Grizzlies guard John Konchar defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Los Angeles Clippers guard Cam Christie, left, shoots as Memphis Grizzlies guard John Konchar (46) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Memphis Grizzlies forward/center Santi Aldama goes high as Los Angeles Clippers forward/center John Collins (20) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey (14) grabs a high pass as Los Angeles Clippers guard Cam Christie defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Memphis Grizzlies guard John Konchar (46) and Los Angeles Clippers' Nicolas Batum (33) vie for a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Los Angeles Clippers forward/center John Collins is defended by Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey, right, and forward/center Jaren Jackson Jr., left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 24 points and eight rebounds. James Harden had 18 points and seven assists, and John Collins scored 16 points. Los Angeles lost for the ninth time in 11 games.
The teams exchanged leads through the fourth quarter and were tied at 98 with 3:40 left when Harden hit a pair of free throws, his only points of the second half. At that point, there had been 10 lead changes and nine ties. Neither team lead by more than eight points.
Memphis closed the game with nine straight points.
Memphis defeated the Clippers in Los Angeles 112-107 a week ago.
Clippers: At Minnesota on Saturday night.
Grizzlies: Host Portland on Sunday night.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Los Angeles Clippers guard Cam Christie (12) comes up with a rebound as Memphis Grizzlies guard John Konchar defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Los Angeles Clippers guard Cam Christie, left, shoots as Memphis Grizzlies guard John Konchar (46) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Memphis Grizzlies forward/center Santi Aldama goes high as Los Angeles Clippers forward/center John Collins (20) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey (14) grabs a high pass as Los Angeles Clippers guard Cam Christie defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Memphis Grizzlies guard John Konchar (46) and Los Angeles Clippers' Nicolas Batum (33) vie for a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Los Angeles Clippers forward/center John Collins is defended by Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey, right, and forward/center Jaren Jackson Jr., left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
HAVANA (AP) — Officials in Cuba reported an islandwide blackout Monday in the country of some 11 million people as its energy and economic crises deepen and its power grid continues to crumble.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines on X noted a “complete disconnection” of the country’s electrical system and said it was investigating, noting there were no failures in the units that were operating when the grid collapsed.
It was the third major blackout in Cuba over the past four months.
Tomás David Velázquez Felipe, a 61-year-old resident of Havana, said the relentless outages make him think that Cubans who can should just pack up and leave the island. “What little we have to eat spoils,” he said. “Our people are too old to keep suffering.”
By Monday evening, state-owned media reported that crews had restored power to 2% of Havana's residents, representing some 18,000 customers, as well as a handful of hospitals across the island. Officials said they would prioritize the communications sector next, all while warning that the small circuits restored so far could fail again.
Cuba’s aging grid has drastically eroded in recent years, leading to an increase in daily outages and islandwide blackouts. But the government also has blamed its woes on a U.S. energy blockade after President Donald Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. The Trump administration is demanding that Cuba release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization in return for a lifting of sanctions. Trump also has raised the possibility of a "friendly takeover of Cuba."
On Monday, he said he believes he’ll have the “honor of taking Cuba.”
“I mean, whether I free it, take it. I think I could do anything I want with it,” Trump said about Cuba, calling it a “very weakened nation.”
The U.S. Embassy in Cuba wrote on X on Monday that “there is no information on when power would be restored.”
“Cuba’s national electrical grid is increasingly unstable and prolonged scheduled and unscheduled power outages are a daily occurrence across the country,” it wrote. “Take precautions by conserving fuel, water, food, and mobile phone charge, and be prepared for significant disruption.”
William LeoGrande, a professor at American University who has tracked Cuba for years, said the country's energy grid hasn't been maintained properly and its infrastructure is “way past its normal useful life.”
“The technicians working on the grid are magicians to keep it running at all given the shape that it’s in," LeoGrande said.
LeoGrande said that if the island drastically reduces consumption and expands renewables, it can struggle along for a while without oil shipments. “But it would be constant misery for the general population, and eventually, the economy could collapse just completely and then you would have social chaos and probably mass migration,” he said.
To ramp up solar power even faster than Cuba did last year, LeoGrande said other countries, principally China, would have to be willing to double or more their provision of such equipment.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Friday said the island had not received oil shipments in three months and was operating on solar power, natural gas and thermoelectric plants, and that the government has had to postpone surgeries for tens of thousands of people.
Yaimisel Sánchez Peña, 48, said she was upset that the food she buys with money that her son in the U.S. sends keeps spoiling, adding that the outages also affect her 72-year-old mother: “Every day, she suffers."
Mercedes Velázquez, a 71-year-old Cuban resident, lamented yet another blackout. “We’re here waiting to see what happens,” she said, adding that she recently gave away part of a soup she made while it was still fresh so as not to throw it out. “Everything goes bad.”
A massive outage over a week ago affected the island’s west, leaving millions without power. Another major blackout affected western Cuba in early December.
Critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the U.S. attacked the South American country in early January and arrested its then-president, Nicolás Maduro.
While Cuba produces 40% of its petroleum and has been generating its own power, it hasn’t been sufficient to meet demand as its electric grid continues to crumble.
“And on top of all that, the Cuban government doesn’t have the hard currency to import spare parts or upgrade the plant or grid itself. It’s just a perfect storm of collapse," LeoGrande said.
He noted that the thermoelectric plants also have been using heavy oil, whose sulfur content is corroding the equipment.
On Friday, Díaz-Canel confirmed that Cuba was holding talks with the U.S. government as the problems continue to deepen.
Coto reported from San José, Costa Rica. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed.
People walk outside during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man walks outside during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People ride a bicycle during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man rides a tricycle with his leashed dog running alongside him during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man finishes putting fuel in his car's tank, located in the back of the car, during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People walk outside during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man speaks with a person in a car during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People ride their bicycles along the Malecón during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People line up in the street to buy bread in Havana, Cuba, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
