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Grizzlies rally past Bulls, 105-96

Mar 5, 2010 - 5:04 AM By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer

CHICAGO(AP) -- Zach Randolph figured there was no way his teammates would let it go, so he was bracing for some good-natured teasing after getting dunked on by Derrick Rose.

At least he can say he scored 31 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.

More important, the Memphis Grizzlies rallied from a big first-half deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls 105-96 on Thursday night.

As for Rose's dunk?

"It got me on ESPN," Randolph said.

Randolph figured to show up in some highlights anyway, considering he helped his team rally from 17 down in the second quarter before tying it in the third. The Grizzlies finally took control with an 8-0 run late in the fourth that gave them a 97-90 lead.

O.J. Mayo scored 10 of his 20 points in the final quarter, and Rudy Gay finished with 17 as the Grizzlies extended their franchise-record road win streak to six and sent Chicago to its third straight loss.

"It's not time to panic," Bulls forward Luol Deng said. "We've got 21 games left. We've got to play with a lot more energy than this, especially in the second half."

The Bulls wasted solid performances by Deng (23 points) and Rose (20 points), who have been playing with sore knees. That didn't stop Rose, who banged one knee in each of the previous two games, from driving for a poster-worthy right-handed dunk in the third quarter over Randolph.

"(Rose) got me good," Randolph said.

And Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins predicted, "He's going to be one of the all-time greats before he's done."

Still, Randolph got the last word. He finished two points shy of his season high and started the decisive run with a free throw that tied it at 90 with just over five minutes left.

Marc Gasol (12 points) added a three-point play on a feed from Mike Conley and had a chance for another one with 4:01 left. He missed the free throw, Gay grabbed the rebound and Mayo put it in to make it a seven-point game with 3:50 left.

"It hurts," Rose said. "We worked so hard, then the ball bounces their way. We were right there and they made some great plays, effort plays, and they got the ball."

This painful loss comes at a time when the Bulls have little room for error. Leading rebounder Joakim Noah is out with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, and Chicago still has seven left in a tough nine-game stretch in which they must face division leaders Dallas (twice), Orlando and Cleveland.

"We have to get bodies on people and be more physical," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "You have to control the tempo of the game and get more baskets. Everyone has to be more physical and get more loose balls."

A healthy Noah might have helped on the glass, where the Grizzlies outrebounded the Bulls 46-31. Then again, his foot has been bothering him since mid-January, which is why the Bulls decided to shut him down for three weeks on Wednesday. A day later, they appeared to be in decent shape with a 49-32 lead with about five minutes left in the second quarter.

They were still looking good in the third even after watching it dwindle to four.

Rose's big dunk got the lead back up to nine about four minutes into the quarter, and the Bulls were up 65-55 before it all went away.

The Grizzlies ran off 10 straight, tying it on Conley's driving layup with 4:33 left in the quarter before Chicago called time, and they briefly went ahead midway through the fourth on a floater by Conley that made it 89-87. The Bulls' Kirk Hinrich answered with a 3-pointer before the Grizzlies went ahead for good.

"Our energy picked up in the second quarter and our focus got better," Hollins said. "We got out and ran on them a little bit after we got stops."

NOTES: The Grizzlies had 62 points in the paint to Chicago's 42. ... The home team had won nine straight in this series. ... Blackhawks star and U.S. Olympic silver medalist Patrick Kane got a nice ovation when he was shown seated at courtside late in the first quarter.