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Jazz slip by Grizzlies

Jan 7, 2012 - 6:32 AM Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Al Jefferson scored 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz past the Memphis Grizzlies, 94-85, on Friday.

Paul Millsap added 14 points and eight boards, while Josh Howard scored 13 to pace a Utah bench that contributed 41 points as the Jazz improved to 4-0 at home this season.

Marc Gasol netted 21 points with 11 rebounds and six blocked shots for the Grizzlies, who had a two-game win streak snapped. They fell for the first time in three games since losing Zach Randolph to a slight MCL tear.

Memphis coach Lionel Hollins resented being asked how the team missed Randolph the most.

"Here's the deal: Zach's not here and if he was here, we still would have gotten our butts beat if we didn't execute down the stretch," said Hollins.

Tony Allen also scored 21 points for Memphis, while Rudy Gay dropped in 17 with seven rebounds.

After Utah tied the game at 47 with a Jefferson jumper to open the third quarter, Gay reeled off seven straight points to put Memphis ahead 54-47.

The Grizzlies maintained their seven-point lead for the majority of the third quarter as each team traded buckets over the next five minutes.

But with Memphis holding a 64-57 advantage with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third, Utah closed out the frame with a 10-0 run to hold a 67-64 lead entering the fourth quarter.

A pair of Gasol field goals around a Derrick Favors jumper made it a one-point game early in the fourth, but Utah carried over its momentum from the end of the third quarter with nine straight points to go up 78-68 with 6:17 left in the game.

Memphis would not get any closer than five points from there as Utah sank its free throws to hang on for the win.

"On the road if we'd have gotten down like that (in the third quarter), we'd have just given up," said Jefferson. "But tonight we didn't We just kept playing hard."

The first 5 1/2 minutes of the game saw seven lead changes and one tie, but with the Jazz leading 14-13, Memphis ripped off an 11-0 spurt to go up by 10 and held a 26-22 lead after one.

The Grizzlies held that lead through the majority of the second quarter until a late 7-0 run by the Jazz put them ahead 45-43 with 2:00 left in the half.

Utah, though, would not score again and a pair of layups by Tony Allen and Gasol gave the Grizzlies a 47-45 lead at the break.

Game Notes

Utah is 0-3 on the road this year...The Grizzlies have lost nine straight in Salt Lake City...Memphis' bench scored just 11 points...Memphis held a 41-38 advantage on the glass...Utah outscored Memphis in the paint 52-42.