Grizzlies 102, Bulls 86
Rudy Gay scored 24 points and Mike Conley collected 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies crushed the visiting Chicago Bulls, 102-86, on Monday afternoon.
Marc Gasol added 19 points and 10 rebounds and Marreese Speights chipped in 16 and 12 for the Grizzlies, who have won three straight for the first time this season.
Chicago entered Monday with a five-game winning streak and an NBA-leading defense. With reigning MVP Derrick Rose watching from the bench with a turf toe injury, the Bulls did not look like the same team.
Memphis had no trouble scoring on Chicago in the first half, shooting 69 percent from the floor to take a 58-38 lead into the break. Gay scored 15 points in the half and sparked a 13-1 burst heading into the locker room when he drove past Joakim Noah and dunked over a pair of defenders.
The Bulls put together a much stronger defensive effort in the third quarter and ended up pulling as close as 83-74 early in the fourth.
But the Grizzlies responded with a 15-3 burst over the next four minutes, stretching the lead back over 20 points and cruising to the finish.
Luol Deng scored 20 points to lead Chicago.