LDN - Sports

Gasol, Carter help Grizzlies hold off Jazz

[November 15, 2016] SALT LAKE CITY -- Crashing the boards and playing tough defense is a proven winning formula for Memphis. When the Grizzlies can get those phases of the game working with precision, it turns them into a team that can grind out a game against any opponent.

Grind City has been built brick-by-brick through doing lots of small things to open the doors to much larger things.

That's exactly how it worked out in a 102-96 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night. Memphis countered one of the NBA's best defensive teams with a dose of their own medicine. They pounded the Jazz on the glass and created second chances for themselves while also getting stops at critical times on the other end.

It added up to the Grizzlies' first road win of the season.

"I feel like this is the best four quarters we've put together," Memphis coach David Fizdale said. "They want to win. They really want this and we worked really hard over the last couple of days to clean things up."

Memphis (5-5) dominated the glass for four quarters. The Grizzlies finished with a 44-29 advantage on rebounds -- including a 14-6 edge on the offensive glass. It opened things up on the offensive end. Memphis finished with a 52-42 advantage with points in the paint over the Jazz and a 20-9 edge in second-chance baskets.

Marc Gasol scored 22 points to lead the way. Vince Carter added 20 off the bench. Zach Randolph and Mike Conley tallied 18 points apiece, while Randolph also chipped in a team-high 10 rebounds.

"It's what we do, man," Randolph said. "It's always we've been doing since we've been there. Player personnel changes a little bit, but it's what we do. We rebound."

Joe Ingles scored a career-high 20 points while starting in place of Rodney Hood. Trey Lyles added a season-high 18 points and Shelvin Mack chipped in 17 points off the bench. It wasn't enough to help Utah (7-5) extend a two-game winning streak.

Memphis had no trouble finding its shot in fostering a strong first-quarter start. The Grizzlies connected on 12-of-20 field-goal attempts (60.0 percent) and held the Jazz at arm's length for much of the quarter.

It helped the Grizzlies build up a seven-point lead, going up 24-17 on back-to-back baskets from Gasol and Randolph. Each time Utah attempted to cut into the deficit, the Grizzlies answered with baskets on the other end. It offset a 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) shooting effort from the Jazz in the opening quarter.

The Grizzlies eventually carved out a 38-26 lead early in the second quarter after Randolph capped a 12-3 run by putting back his own missed jumper.

"We started, obviously, terrible and they got the lead from there," Ingles said. "We were kind of chasing uphill the rest of the game. They are a good veteran team. We just didn't come out, obviously, the right way."

Utah finally trimmed the lead behind hot perimeter shooting in the second quarter. Lyles, Mack and Hayward each drained 3-pointers as part of an 18-9 run that cut the Memphis lead to 47-44. The Jazz cut it to three a second time when Lyles stole a pass and set Mack up for a 3-pointer to make it 51-48.

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Jazz forward Derrick Favors (15) shoots the ball against Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) during the second half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Memphis won 102-96. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

"I just tried to go in there and give the team energy off the bench and do what Coach (Quin Snyder) asked of me," Lyles said. "It wasn't good enough to get the win, but we're going to come back on Thursday and hopefully improve on areas that we weren't good in tonight."

Memphis withstood the spurt. Conley answered with his own 3-pointer and Carter added a layup to quell a bigger run from developing and then Gasol opened the third quarter with a layup to push the lead back to double digits at 68-58.

It only set the stage for a bigger Utah run. Rudy Gobert threw down a dunk and sank a turnaround hook shot on back-to-back possessions to spark a 7-0 Jazz spurt and cut the Grizzlies lead to 60-59. Utah cut it to a point four more times before finally taking its first lead when Lyles hit two free throws to make it 70-69 with 50 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Memphis sprinted back in front on a Deytona Davis layup seconds later and the Grizzlies took an 85-81 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Carter and Andrew Harrison. Utah tied it up at 88-88 on Boris Diaw's layup with 4:11 left only for Memphis to pull back ahead on an 8-2 mini-run. Carter finished it off with a reverse backdoor dunk to make it 96-90 with 54 seconds to go.

"The first half was really good as far as percentage goes," Gasol said. "The second half, we became a little more static, but we were able to find the open guy and execute a little bit -- especially down the stretch. We were able to get the buckets that we want and especially the stops that we needed in order to win the game."

NOTES: F Gordon Hayward is the first Jazz player to score 20 or more points in each his first five games to start a season since Karl Malone accomplished the feat in 2000-01. Hayward finished with 13 points on Monday, breaking the streak. ... F Zach Randolph has 15 double-doubles off the bench for Memphis this season. Randolph is third among active NBA players in career double-doubles (463) behind Dwight Howard (619) and Pau Gasol (505). ... C Boris Diaw returned to action for Utah after missing eight games with a right leg contusion. He finished with six points on 3-of-4 shooting. ... G George Hill missed his fifth straight game with a sprained thumb and G Rodney Hood sat out because of illness. ... G Tony Allen missed his third straight game for the Grizzlies with a right groin strain.

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