|
 Gasol had a go-ahead three-point play with 12.2 seconds left, and
the Memphis Grizzlies held off the Nuggets 102-101 on Thursday
night.
Gasol finished with 27 points and guard Mike Conley scored 20 for
Memphis, which won its fourth straight with NBA commissioner Adam
Silver in attendance.
Gasol had 18 in the second half, three of them that gave Memphis the
win.
"He's one of the better big men in the league if not the best,"
Conley said. "Not too many people can guard him. If we can get him
the ball in a spot where he can be effective he's going to make the
right play."
With the Grizzlies down one Gasol rolled to the basket and put in a
layup as he was fouled by Denver center Joffrey Lauvergne. He hit
the free throw to give Memphis a 100-98 lead.
"I's a play that we run pretty often," Gasol said. "Mike saw the
pocket, his man went over the screen, my man had to help and he put
it there."
Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari missed a 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds
left and Conley sank two free throws. Denver guard Emmanuel Mudiay
hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
When the Grizzlies (25-19) beat Denver in Memphis on Jan. 8 it was
Randolph who hurt them with 24 points off the bench. Gasol had just
12 on 5-for-17 shooting in that game but he made up for it with a
big night Thursday.
"When you got guys like Zach and Marc, they kind of play off each
other," said Denver forward Darrell Arthur, who played five years in
Memphis. "We did a better job on Zach tonight and Marc played a
better game than he did the last time we played him."
Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried had 17 points and 12 rebounds but
didn't play in the fourth quarter. Gallinari also scored 17 and
Mudiay had 14 points and eight assists.
Denver outscored the Grizzlies 78-65 over the last three quarters
but couldn't make up for a slow start.
"It gets so old when you hear, 'Hey, great game, great comeback.
We're paid to win games," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.
The Nuggets (16-27) trailed by as many as 18 in the second quarter
but rallied to cut it to 55-48 at the half. They took their first
lead when Faried's layup early in the third made it 59-58.
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Denver went up 69-66 after guard Gary Harris' 3-pointer completed a
four-point trip, but Gasol scored 10 of the Grizzlies' next 13
points to put them ahead 79-77 after three quarters.
The Memphis bench extended the lead to seven early in the fourth but
Denver hung around. Mudiay, who scored all of his points in the
second half, hit a 3-pointer and Lauvergne a layup to tie it at 91
with4:48left.
A goaltending call on Conley's layup put Memphis back in front, but
guard Will Barton hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 94 with 2:27 left.
Gasol went 1-for-2 from the line with 53 seconds left to give the
Grizzlies a 97-96 lead, but Barton's layup gave Denver the lead with
41.2 seconds remaining.
The Grizzlies missed a shot but got the rebound and called a timeout
to set up the last play.
NOTES: Memphis signed C Ryan Hollins to a 10-day contract on
Thursday. Hollins is in his third stint with Memphis this season. He
was in training camp but was waived before the start of the season.
He was re-signed Dec. 29 and played in four games before being
waived again Jan. 7. ... Nuggets G Jameer Nelson missed his third
straight game with a sprained left wrist. ... Grizzlies G Mike
Conley played in his second straight game after missing six with a
sore left Achilles tendon. ... Denver coach Michael Malone said he
didn't play C Jusuf Nurkic on Tuesday because he "hadn't done
anything in six days." Nurkic was active against Oklahoma City after
missing two games with a left knee injury. ... Memphis G Tony Allen
(knee/hamstring) was a late scratch and the Grizzlies had 10
available players.
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