Spanish centre Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph
dominated inside as the Memphis Grizzlies survived a torrid three-point
shooting barrage by the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA.
Gasol powered through for 30 points and Randolph had 13 of his 17 in the decisive third quarter along with 13 rebounds as the Grizzlies
overcame 18 triples to beat the visiting Mavericks 114-105 in a
Southwest Division collision.
"We didn't think they'd make so many threes, so we had to keep up
until our defence came to play," said Grizzlies point guard Mike
Conley, who contributed 22 points.
Tony Allen netted 13 points and Tayshaun Prince added 11 as Memphis
(17-4) committed just five turnovers and dominated the paint 52-26.
Trailing by six at halftime, the Grizzlies outscored their guests
36-17 in the third quarter, as Randolph went inside for 13 points and
nine boards while Conley netted 11 for a 92-79 advantage heading into
the fourth quarter.
"The zone hurt us so in order to beat that we wanted to get into our
sets quickly," Conley explained. "Once we got into a good flow they
were kind of scrambling defensively."
The Mavericks pulled to within 101-99 with four minutes 35 seconds
left on back-to-back triples by Chandler Parsons and Devin Harris.
But the Grizzlies closed on a 13-6 run.
Parsons, Jameer Nelson and J.J. Barea posted season-highs of 30, 18
and 17 points, respectively for Dallas (16-7) who made 18-of-40
from behind the arc but was victimised by Gasol and Randolph.
"Those two guys are very good and they're very strong," Parsons said.
They're big. They get very good position. It's almost like they miss
layups on purpose just to get it back. Then they either get fouled or
get the layup."
Elsewhere the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors 105-101, LeBron James scoring 35 points, including the tie-breaking three-pointer with 48 seconds left.
Portland Trail Blazers were too good for the Detroit Pistons 98-86 as LaMarcus Aldridge (23 points, 11 rebounds) led his side (17-4) to their seventh consecutive road win while sending the reeling Pistons (3-19) to a 13th straight loss.
Other results: New Orleans Pelicans bt New York Knicks 104-93; Oklahoma City Thunder bt Milwaukee Bucks 114-101; Miami Heat bt Phoenix Suns 103-97; Utah Jazz bt San Antonio Spurs 100-96; and LA Lakers bt Sacramento Kings 98-95.
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