Final
Gay leads Grizzlies over Mavs
Apr 8, 2012 - 6:39 AM Memphis, TN (Sports Network) - Rudy Gay scored a game-high 25 points as the Memphis Grizzlies held off the Dallas Mavericks, 94-89, at FedExForum.Zach Randolph added 15 points and 11 rebounds while Gilbert Arenas netted 14 points for the Grizzlies, who won for the seventh time in nine games.
Dirk Nowitzki paced the Mavericks with 17 points to go along with eight rebounds as Dallas dropped its fourth game in six tries.
Brandan Wright contributed a season-high 16 points and Shawn Marion finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds in a losing effort.
"It's just frustrating in all aspects," Marion said. "We were playing good defense. We couldn't hit any shots. If everything could go wrong, it went wrong."
Dallas trailed, 50-39, entering the third quarter, but opened the frame with a 23-13 push behind seven points by Vince Carter to get within one, 63-62, but Memphis steadied itself with a 7-0 spurt to deny the Mavericks from taking their first lead of the contest.
The Mavericks scored five of the final seven points of the third to carry a 72-67 deficit into the fourth quarter.
Memphis then answered every Dallas basket in the fourth to not allow the Mavericks to put together a comeback rally.
Dallas did recover from a 10-point deficit to get within three, 92-89, with 21.5 seconds to play after Nowitzki connected on a pair of free throws, but Randolph answered with two from the line at the other end and Delonte West's ensuing turnover sealed the win for the Grizzlies.
"They just gutted it out," Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins said about his team. "The guys just compete and they just keep playing. No matter who you trot out there, they just compete and keep battling."
Memphis took advantage of a dreadful shooting performance by the Mavericks in the first quarter to take control.
The Grizzlies opened the game with an 8-0 run as Dallas missed its first two shots and had a pair of turnovers before Marion snapped the run with a tip-in.
However, the Mavericks would not record another shot from the floor until Carter's three-point play with 16.6 seconds left in the first made it a 26-10 game in favor of the Grizzlies. Randolph followed with a buzzer-beating three- pointer to give Memphis a 29-10 advantage entering the second.
Dallas ended the first shooting 2-for-15 from the field (13.3 percent) while also turning the ball over six times.
The Mavericks fared mush better in the second quarter, shooting 60 percent in the frame to slowly chip away at their deficit.
After Gay's trey gave the Grizzlies a 41-24 lead with a little over five minutes left in the half, Jason Terry connected on two triples in a 10-2 run to bring Dallas within single digits, 43-34.
The Mavs would get no closer than that, though, and trailed, 50-39, at the break.
Game Notes
Dallas finished shooting 46.6 percent from the floor, while Memphis connected on 38.8 percent of its shots, but went 23-of-27 from the free-throw line...The Mavericks made 12-of-17 shots from the charity stripe...Each team scored 40 points in the paint.
- DALLAS: 89
MEMPHIS: 94
Final
Apr 7 10:33 PM - DALLAS: 67
MEMPHIS: 72
End of 3rd
Apr 7 9:57 PM - DALLAS: 39
MEMPHIS: 50
Halftime
Apr 7 9:12 PM - DALLAS: 10
MEMPHIS: 29
End of 1st
Apr 7 8:42 PM - DALLAS: 0
MEMPHIS: 0
1st Quarter - 12:00
Apr 7 8:12 PM
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