Randolph leads Grizzlies over Suns

[January 07, 2013]  PHOENIX (AP) -- Zach Randolph scored 21 points and Rudy Gay added 20 to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 92-81 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.

Tony Allen scored 11 and Marc Gasol had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who have won three of their last five games.

P.J. Tucker scored a career-high 17 points and Marcin Gortat added 12 points and rebounds for the Suns. Guards Goran Dragic and Sebastian Telfair combined for just 12 points and seven assists.

Phoenix has lost eight of nine and 15 of 20 dating to November 28.

Despite shooting in the mid-30 percent range for the bulk of the game, Phoenix trailed 71-65 when Markieff Morris converted a three-point play 31 seconds into the fourth quarter.

But Gasol scored four points, including a fallaway 17-footer, and Gay added a 21-foot jumper to key a 10-3 run that put the Grizzlies ahead 81-68.

Randolph, who entered the game shooting 66.7 percent from the floor in the team's two prior meetings, shot 9 of 11 and added eight rebounds.

The Suns shot 78 percent in the first quarter of a loss Friday to Utah, but struggled from the beginning against Memphis, the NBA's top team in opponent scoring. Phoenix missed its first seven shots and 11 of its first 13 on the way to a 23.8 percent shooting quarter and a 32.5 percent first half.

Yet the Grizzlies held only a five-point lead after the first and a 41-38 advantage at half, largely due to eight turnovers and 0-for-3 shooting from beyond the 3-point line.

NOTES: Memphis became the first team in the series to win on the road since the Grizzlies won in Phoenix on December 8, 2010. ... The Suns had one fast-break point. ... Phoenix remained stuck on 1,999 franchise victories. . Memphis is 7-28 in Phoenix. ... Suns guard Wesley Johnson played in the first half for just the seventh time in 35 games, scoring his six points on a pair of 3-pointers. . The Suns' 38 first-half points were one more than the team's season low. ... Gay is nine minutes short of become the franchise leader in minutes played.

[Associated Press; By JONATHAN DALTON]

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