Zach Randolph scored a team-high 24 points off the bench as the Memphis Grizzlies held off the Denver Nuggets 91-84 at FedExForum.
The Nuggets held the lead with 5 minutes, 54 seconds remaining when Danilo Gallinari (29 points, eight rebounds) made two free throws to put them up 76-74, but the Grizzlies (20-18) closed with a 17-8 run.
“They killed us in the fourth quarter,” Denver forward Darrell Arthur said.
Photo: AP
Eight different Nuggets had at least five rebounds, but none as many as 10. Despite the rebounding advantage, the Grizzlies and Randolph were more physical.
“You know they will hold you, punch you, whatever it is, and you gotta respect that about them,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “Playing against Zach Randolph, that is a great learning experience... We gotta get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”
The second quarter was anything but comfortable as Memphis held Denver to seven points on three-of-21 shooting from the field (14.3 percent).
The Nuggets made six of their 17 turnovers in the second quarter and that flipped a one-point Denver lead after the first quarter to a 49-37 Grizzlies lead at halftime.
“I loved the fact that we were down by 12 at halftime and our energy, our effort, our focus to start the third quarter was great,” Malone said.
The Nuggets erased a 12-point halftime deficit and led by four late in the third quarter before Memphis closed with a 5-0 spurt to carry a 67-66 lead into the fourth.
Denver’s only lead of the fourth quarter lasted just 32 seconds, when Randolph’s putback tied the score at 76-76 with 5 minutes, 22 seconds to play.
The Nuggets hung in there and were down 82-78 with 2 minutes, 30 seconds left when Randolph rejected a layup attempt by Jusuf Nurkic. It was Randolph’s third block of the night.
“Got that old grit and grind feeling back,” Randolph said.
Also helping the Grizzlies was Jeff Green, who had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Matt Barnes, who finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
The Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol had 12 points with five steals, while Mario Chalmers played 40 minutes and contributed 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and four turnovers.
The 1.88m-tall, 86kg Chalmers also mixed things up with the 2.13m-tall, 127kg Nurkic after Randolph’s block, with Chalmers and Nurkic both getting a technical.
“Mario, he is not gonna back down,” Randolph said. “He fits in well.”
Warriors 128, Trail Blazers 108
Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry combined for 62 points as the Golden State Warriors trounced the Portland Trail Blazers 128-108 at the Moda Center.
Thompson bombed in 36 points and Curry had 26 points to go with nine assists as the Warriors (34-2) won their fifth straight game. Draymond Green had his seventh triple-double of the season, with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
Raptors 97, Wizards 88
DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 35 points as the Toronto Raptors continued their regular-season dominance over the Washington Wizards with a 97-88 victory.
Lowry had 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter as well as 10 rebounds for the Raptors (23-15), who are 3-0 against the Wizards this season and have won six straight non-playoff games in the series.
Magic 83, Nets 77
Victor Oladipo scored 20 points and hit six three-pointers as the Orlando Magic ended a four-game losing streak with an 83-77 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. It also was his 14th double-double.
Aaron Gordon added 14 and Evan Fournier contributed 13 for Orlando, who closed out the game with a 15-9 run over the final 6 minutes, 48 seconds to end their longest losing streak of the season.
Pacers 91, Pelicans 86
Ian Mahinmi scored 17 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked a career-high four shots as the Indiana Pacers overcame a season-high 24 turnovers to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 91-86 at the Smoothie King Center.
The Pelicans (11-24) played most of the game without All Star forward Anthony Davis, who injured his lower back diving into courtside seats for a loose ball three minutes in.
Spurs 100, Knicks 99
Kawhi Leonard scored 19 points and pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs stepped on the gas at the start of the fourth quarter and had just enough in the tank to outlast the New York Knicks 100-99 to remain unbeaten at home.
The Spurs led 79-74 after three quarters, but opened the fourth quarter with seven straight points to give them some breathing room.
Heat 103, Suns 95
Miami guard Dwyane Wade scored nine of his game-high 27 points in the final four minutes, while Goran Dragic added 22 in his return to Phoenix as the Heat withstood a second-half push to beat the Suns 103-95.
Ex-Sun Gerald Green, also in his return to Phoenix, added 21 points for the Heat (22-14), who have now beaten the Suns 11 straight times overall and eight straight times at the Talking Stick Arena.
Bucks 96, Mavericks 95
A Khris Middleton layup with 9.1 seconds left and a missed jumper by point guard Deron Williams sealed the Milwaukee Bucks’ 96-95 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at the Bradley Center.
Middleton had 27 points to lead Milwaukee, who saw a 16-point halftime lead disappear in the second half as the Mavericks finally started to get into an offensive rhythm after shooting just 31 percent in the first half.
Thunder 117, Lakers 113
Russell Westbrook scored 15 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, lifting the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 117-113 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center.
Westbrook also had 12 rebounds and seven assists, while Kevin Durant had 24 points and seven rebounds as the Thunder (26-11) defeated the Lakers for the seventh consecutive time.
Cavaliers 125, Timberwolves 99
J.R. Smith scored a season-high 27 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 125-99 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center.
The victory extended the Cavaliers’ winning streak to six games as Cleveland moved to 2-0 on their season-long, six-game road trip.
Kevin Love, making his second trip back to Minnesota after a trade that sent him to Cleveland for Andrew Wiggins two summers ago, added 20 points and nine rebounds.
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