Gasol, Carter help Grizzlies hold off Jazz
SALT LAKE CITY -- Marc Gasol scored 22 points while Vince Carter added 20 off the bench to help the Memphis Grizzlies hold off a second-half Utah Jazz rally and claim a 102-96 victory on Monday night.
Zach Randolph and Mike Conley added 18 points apiece to help the Grizzlies earn their second win in five games. Memphis (5-5) dominated the glass for four quarters. The Grizzlies finished with a 44-29 advantage on rebounds. They held a 52-42 edge with points in the paint over the Jazz and a 20-9 edge in second-chance baskets.
Joe Ingles scored a career-high 20 points while starting in place of Rodney Hood. Trey Lyles added a season-high 18 points and Shelvin Mack chipped in 17 points off the bench. It wasn't enough to help Utah (7-5) extend a two-game winning streak.
Memphis had no trouble finding its shot in the first quarter. The Grizzlies connected on 12-of-20 field-goal attempts (60.0 percent) and held the Jazz at arm's length for much of the quarter.
Memphis built up a seven-point lead, going up 24-17 on back-to-back baskets from Gasol and Randolph. Each time Utah attempted to cut into the deficit, the Grizzlies answered with baskets on the other end. It offset a 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) shooting effort from the Jazz in the opening quarter. The Grizzlies eventually carved out a 38-26 lead early in the second quarter after Randolph capped a 12-3 run by putting back his own missed jumper.
Utah finally trimmed the lead behind hot perimeter shooting. Lyles, Mack and Hayward each drained 3-pointers as part of an 18-9 run that cut the Memphis lead to 47-44 with 4:39 left before halftime.
The Jazz cut it to three a second time when Lyles stole a pass and set Mack up for a 3-pointer to make it 51-48. Conley answered with his own 3-pointer and Carter added a layup to quell a bigger run from developing and then Gasol opened the third quarter with a layup to push the lead back to double digits.
It only set the stage for a bigger Utah run. Rudy Gobert threw down a dunk and sank a turnaround hook shot on back-to-back possessions to spark a 7-0 Jazz spurt and cut the Grizzlies lead to 60-59. Utah cut it to one four more times in the quarter before finally taking its first lead when Lyles hit two free throws to make it 70-69 with 50 seconds remaining in the third.
Memphis sprinted back in front on a Deytona Davis layup seconds later and the Grizzlies took an 85-81 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Carter and Andrew Harrison. Utah tied it up at 88-88 on Boris Diaw's layup with 4:11 left only for Memphis to pull back ahead on an 8-2 mini-run. Carter finished it off with a reverse backdoor dunk to make it 96-90 with 54 seconds to go.
NOTES: F Gordon Hayward is the first Jazz player to score 20 or more points in each his first five games to start a season since Karl Malone accomplished the feat in 2000-01. ... F Zach Randolph has 14 double-doubles off the bench for Memphis this season. Randolph is third among active NBA players in career double-doubles (462) behind Dwight Howard (619) and Pau Gasol (505). ... C Boris Diaw returned to action for Utah after missing eight games with a right leg contusion. ... G George Hill missed his fifth straight game with a sprained thumb and G Rodney Hood sat out because of illness. ... G Tony Allen missed his third straight game for the Grizzlies with a right groin strain.