Grizzlies rally past Rockets
HOUSTON -- Zach Randolph posted a double-double off the bench and the Memphis Grizzlies erased a 16-point deficit in rallying past the Houston Rockets 110-105 on Friday night at Toyota Center.
Randolph finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds and carried the Grizzlies offensively during a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter. Houston (31-11) dropped consecutive games for the first time this season largely due to their poor perimeter shooting. The Rockets missed 21 of 24 3-pointers in the second half.
Case in point: Trailing by four points inside the final minute of the game, Trevor Ariza and Ryan Anderson missed open looks from behind the arc. Memphis followed with a contested 3 from reserve guard Troy Daniels to extend the lead to 110-103. The Grizzlies are 2-0 against Houston this season.
Mike Conley has 17 points and nine assists for the Grizzlies (25-17), who also received 14 points, six rebounds and six assists from Marc Gasol and a season-high 22 points from Tony Allen before he fouled out with 3:35 to play.
James Harden led the Rockets with 27 points and nine assists. Five other players scoring in double figures for Houston, which missed 31 of 41 3-pointers.
The Grizzlies fashioned their comeback with offensive precision while taking advantage of the Rockets' sudden cold shooting. Houston shot 58.3 percent in the first half but opened the third quarter missing 10 of 12 shots en route to a 6-for-24 period, including 2 of 14 from behind the arc on several open looks.
Memphis scored on backdoor cuts and a sudden surge of 3s. The Rockets managed just one basket during an 11-3 Memphis run and after seemingly finding their footing with back-to-back treys, the Rockets totaled just four points over the final three minutes of the third, all from the charity stripe. The Grizzlies countered with four 3-pointers plus a three-point play from Conley.
The Grizzlies closed the third shooting 13 of 20 including 5 of 10 on 3s to slice the deficit to 85-83.
Houston had no such problems in the second quarter, committing just one turnover while stretching a 31-25 lead entering the period to 62-46 on an Ariza free throw with 1:31 left in the half. Montrezl Harrell and Harden converted driving layups during the surge, with Harrell adding an emphatic dunk to that run.
NOTES: Houston G Eric Gordon returned to action after missing two games with a sprained left big toe. The Rockets split decisions against the Hornets and Timberwolves without Gordon, who is second on the team in scoring at 17.8 points per game and second in the NBA with 145 3-pointers. ... Grizzlies coach David Fizdale remains committed to a minute restriction for F Chandler Parsons, who scored a season-high 14 points over 18 minutes against the Thunder on Wednesday night. Parsons has been beset by knee woes and his minutes total at Oklahoma City was his most since his return from an 18-game hiatus that began in mid-November. Parsons is averaging 15.4 minutes in the nine games since his return. ... Rockets G Patrick Beverley has turned a corner with the right wrist sprain that cost him two games recently. After averaging 14 points on 11-for-15 shooting in his first two games back from injury, Beverley averaged 4.7 points while shooting 19 percent (4 for 21) in the following three games.