Grizzlies beat Mavericks for third straight win
DALLAS -- Chandler Parsons scored 12 points in his return to Dallas and the Memphis Grizzlies breezed by the Mavericks 80-64 Friday night at American Airlines Center.
The Grizzlies (7-5) finished their four-game trip with three straight wins to improve to 3-3 on the road this season.
Parsons was introduced to a smattering of boos in his first game back since leaving the Mavs after two injury-plagued years. The small forward thought he might get a negative reception after opting out of his contract with Dallas this past summer.
Parsons began this season on the mend and remains on a minutes' restriction, but led the charge as Memphis began to pull away in the third quarter. He matched his season high in scoring and knocked down three 3-pointers after making just two in his first five games.
Marc Gasol added 11 points and JaMychal Green pulled down 12 rebounds. Mike Conley scored eight in 29 minutes.
Grizzlies coach David Fizdale didn't play any of the starters more than 32 minutes with Memphis heading home to complete a back-to-back Saturday night against Minnesota.
Grizzlies guard Tony Allen returned after missing the last four games with a strained right groin to score 11 off the bench. Zach Randolph had 10 points and eight boards.
The depleted Mavericks (2-9) have lost four in row. Dallas was without starters Dirk Nowitzki and Deron Williams, and key reserves J.J. Barea and Devin Harris.
The losing streak is the second-longest for the Mavs on the young season. They opened 2016-17 with five consecutive losses.
Dallas' leading scorer Harrison Barnes had a team-high 15 in the Mavs' lowest-scoring game this season. Seth Curry scored 11 in his third start. Rookie guard Jonathan Gibson, signed earlier in the day, had 11 points in his NBA debut.
Baskets were hard to come by throughout the first half, as both clubs came out sluggish. Neither team reached 20 points in either of the first two quarters.
The Grizzlies took a 36-29 lead into the break despite shooting 36 percent. Gasol had a team-high nine points, and he banked his one 3-point attempt.
Dallas was even worse at 29 percent. Wesley Matthews and Curry combined for 17 points in the first half.
Dallas finishes a back-to-back Saturday with a trip to Orlando.
NOTES: Mavericks G J.J. Barea will miss at least the next six weeks after suffering a muscle tear in his left leg where his calf connects to the Achilles tendon. ... Dallas signed rookie G Jonathan Gibson for backcourt depth and waived F Quincy Acy. ... Memphis F Chandler Parsons was annoyed by a Dallas media report that suggested his work ethic factored into the Mavs' decision not to re-sign him. "I always have my priorities in check, and I've always worked extremely hard, so I hope no one would ever knock my work ethic," he said. ... Dallas PF Dirk Nowitzki (Achilles soreness) and PG Deron Williams (calf) will miss at least the next two games, coach Rick Carlisle said.