Bobcats 96, Grizzlies 82
Stephen Jackson led the way with 27 points and D.J. Augustin added 18 points and nine assists as the Charlotte Bobcats trounced the Memphis Grizzlies 96-82 on Monday.
Matt Carroll chipped in 12 points off the bench for the Bobcats, who improved to 5-2 under new head coach Paul Silas.
Charlotte locked down on defense in the first half, holding the Grizzlies to 15 points in the first quarter and 16 in the second to take a 44-31 edge into the break. Jackson and Augustin combined for 18 of the Bobcats’ 22 points in the first quarter.
Memphis tried to make a game of it in the third, pulling to within eight points when Mike Conley hit a 3-pointer with 3:06 left in the period, but the Bobcats stretched it back to double digits by the end of the quarter. A 15-4 burst to begin the fourth that included seven points from Carroll pushed the lead to 83-61 and put the game away.
Zach Randolph finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who shot 39 percent from the floor and 12-of-22 from the free throw line.