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Navarro helps Grizzlies rally past Bobcats

Mar 18, 2008 - 3:40 AM By Jason Smith SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Rookie guard Juan Carlos Navarro scored 21 points, leading four Memphis Grizzlies in double figures in a 98-80 victory over the the Charlotte Bobcats at FedEx Forum on Monday.

Reserve Hakim Warrick scored 19 points and Mike Miller added 18 and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

Memphis, which also had dropped 19 of its last 21 contests, received 11 points and 10 boards from Darko Milicic to send Charlotte to its fourth straight defeat.

"We came out aggressive (in the second half) and stayed out of foul trouble," Miller said. "We made some shots, too, which was key. In the first half, it didn't seem like we were making any shots, though Navarro shot pretty well. In the second, though, we drilled some baskets and made some stops."

The Grizzlies used a 25-8 run over the final 4:48 of the second quarter and first 4:23 of the third to take their first lead since early in the first quarter. Navarro's 3-pointer with 7:37 left in the third gave the home team a 54-51 lead.

The Bobcats had led by 14 points with more than five minutes remaining in the first half after Derek Anderson's runner off the glass at the 5:29 mark of the period made it 43-29.

However, the Grizzlies, who outscored the Bobcats, 30-17, in the third quarter, kept the momentum going in the fourth as Javaris Crittenton's three-point play to start the period advanced the Grizzlies' lead to 75-64.

"Obviously, it is a happy time for us," said Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni, whose team scored 27 points off 18 turnovers while also outscoring Charlotte, 56-32, in the paint.

"I thought we played a pretty complete game. Defensively, we held them to 41 percent, and I thought we shot the ball in the second half with confidence. There were times in the first half when I thought we weren't playing with confidence. That's what I think happens with a team that struggles."

Memphis would go on to lead by as many as 21 points in the fourth period, finishing 38-of-84 (45 percent) from the floor overall, including 20-of-37 (54.1 percent) in the second half.

"Turnovers hurt us tonight," Bobcats coach Sam Vincent said. "We were about average number-wise, but they scored off a lot of them. They were tough turnovers because they turned into points for them."

Anderson and fellow reserve, rookie Jared Dudley, scored 17 and 14, respectively, for Charlotte, which shot 41 percent (31-of-76) - converting on just 12-of-34 from the field in the second half.

"I thought we just ran out of gas," Vincent added. "We played pretty good for a half."

Gerald Wallace had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Bobcats, who are 0-4 all-time here.