Grizzlies 99, Pacers 78
Tony Allen had a splendid all-around game with 19 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and six steals to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 99-78 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
Zach Randolph had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Mike Conley contributed 17 points, nine assists and four steals for Memphis (38-32), which moved 1½ games ahead of idle Utah for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Danny Granger and Darren Collison scored 17 points apiece for Indiana (30-40), which still holds the eighth spot in the East.
Memphis jumped out to a 17-2 lead and never trailed. The Grizzlies boosted the advantage to 25 points on Allen’s layup to make the score 54-29 with 2:38 left in the half.
The Pacers trailed by 17 at halftime and by 22 late in the third before finally catching fire. Indiana went on a 14-2 surge over three-plus minutes to cut the Memphis lead to 76-66 on Granger’s 3-point basket with 11 minutes to play.
A short time later, the Grizzlies responded with an 11-2 run and Darrell Arthur’s layup gave Memphis a 91-72 lead with 4:30 remaining.
Tyler Hansbrough added 14 points for Indiana, which shot just 35.6 percent from the field.