MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Mike Conley scored 26 points, Marc Gasol had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Houston Rockets 96-84 on Friday night.
Matt Barnes finished with 12 points and Mario Chalmers added 10 as Memphis won its fourth straight.
James Harden led the Rockets with 22 points, but missed six of his seven shots from beyond the arc. The Rockets have lost five of their last six, going 1-1 since Kevin McHale was fired and J.B. Bickerstaff took over as interim coach.
Trevor Ariza scored 19 points, while Dwight Howard had 12 points and 15 rebounds for Houston, which missed its first 12 shots of the fourth quarter.
Neither team shot particularly well. The Grizzlies hit 42 per cent for the game, while the Rockets were at 38 per cent. But Houston committed a season-high 23 turnovers, leading to 30 Memphis points.
The Grizzlies opened the second half with the first six points to take their largest lead of the night at 65-45.
The Rockets steadily pecked away and a 3-pointer by Marcus Thornton followed by a 22-footer from Ty Lawson as the third quarter ended cut the Memphis lead to 79-70.
But the Grizzlies opened the fourth with a 6-1 spurt to take it back to 14, and by the time Terrence Jones made the Rockets’ first field goal of the quarter, on a dunk off a Memphis turnover with 3:52 left, the Grizzlies’ lead had reached 16.
The Rockets would only have two buckets in the fourth, and were limited to 14 points.
Gasol finally grabbed his 10th rebound with 2 minutes left for his triple-double.
Memphis used 50 per cent shooting in the first half for a 59-45 lead behind 15 points from Conley. Ariza had 16 for the Rockets.
TIP-INS: Rockets: Jason Terry started his second consecutive game at point guard. Lawson came off the bench in middle of first quarter. … The Rockets’ 19 points in the first were a season-low for the opening quarter. The 14 points in the fourth were not a season-low for a quarter. Houston scored 12 in the third against Miami on Nov. 1.
Grizzlies: Memphis F Zach Randolph was a late scratch with right knee soreness. JaMychal Green started his first game of the season in Randolph’s spot. … Veteran Vince Carter saw action for only his second game of the season and immediately hit consecutive 3-pointers, his only six points of the night. … Gasol was 7 of 14 from the field. Conley was 10 of 17, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range.
UP NEXT
Rockets: Host New York Knicks on Saturday.
Grizzlies: Travel to San Antonio on Saturday.
