THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Zach Randolph scored 22 points and Marc Gasol added 21 as the Memphis Grizzlies matched their largest comeback in franchise history, rallying to beat the Dallas Mavericks 90-84 on Wednesday night.
Quincy Pondexter finished with 12 and Austin Daye added 10, all in the first half, for Memphis, which trailed by 25 points in the second quarter but stormed back to win its eighth straight. Gasol had 12 rebounds and Randolph 10 as Memphis outrebounded Dallas 46-34.
The comeback matched a 25-point winning rally at Portland on March 25, 2002.
Shawn Marion led the Mavericks with 16 points, Elton Brand finished with 12 off the bench, and O.J. Mayo added 11, despite going 5 of 13 from the field. Dirk Nowitzki had 10 for Dallas, which dropped its third straight.
Memphis trailed 51-26 with 5:25 to go before halftime, but overtook the Mavericks in the third quarter after scoring the first 20 points of the second half.
With Memphis trailing by 25 in the second quarter, the Grizzlies went on a 36-4 run spanning the half, including the 20-0 rally to open the third quarter.
The Mavericks went more than 8 minutes to start the second half before Mayo split a pair of free throws for Dallas’ first point in the quarter.
Memphis would outscore Dallas 24-5 in the third as the Mavericks hit only two shots. The five points were a franchise low for a Memphis opponent in a quarter. The third quarter tally meant Memphis had crafted a 40-9 run since trailing by 51-26 in the second quarter.
Memphis would stretch the advantage to nine near the 8-minute mark of the fourth. Dallas pushed back, and when Brand hit a 10-footer with 2:50 left, the Mavericks were within two at 80-78.
But Brand was called for a foul on Gasol, then a technical. Memphis hit all three of the ensuing free throws, and Dallas got no closer than five points the rest of the way.
The Mavericks, who defeated Memphis 104-83 in Dallas on Jan. 12, sprinted to an early lead on accurate shooting. Dallas connected on nine of its first 11 shots, while Memphis missed its first eight and managed to connect on only three of its first 14.
A lot of the Grizzlies’ misses came from an early aggressive defence from the Mavericks.
The Mavericks hardly looked as though they were the ones playing the second night of a back-to-back. They had much more energy, and Memphis’ lack of defence allowed the Mavericks to have open shots. That meant Dallas still shooting 65 per cent near the midway point of the second quarter.
Dallas continued to extend the advantage until Memphis started its comeback and trailed 55-42 at the break. Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 14 points. Gasol led Memphis with 13, while Daye came off the bench with 10.
NOTES: The Mavericks’ 38 first-quarter points matched the most allowed by Memphis in a quarter this season. .Nowitzki passed Larry Bird in the first quarter on the career list for made field goals. Nowitzki is now in 21st place. . Marion grabbed an offensive rebound in the third quarter, giving him 2,500 in his career. . It was the largest Grizzlies comeback at home in franchise history. The previous record was a 23-point comeback on Jan. 29, 2000, against New Jersey when the Grizzlies were in Vancouver.
