by khou.com staff

khou.com

Posted on December 30, 2011 at 10:44 PM

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Zach Randolph scored 23 points, Marc Gasol added 20, and the Memphis Grizzlies earned their first victory of the season, beating the Houston Rockets 113-93 on Friday night.

Randolph shot 11 of 14 and grabbed nine rebounds. Gasol and Rudy Gay, who finished with 10 points, each had eight boards as Memphis outrebounded the Rockets 42-33.

Six Grizzlies finished in double figures, including Jeremy Pargo’s 14 and 13 by Quincy Pondexter.

Kevin Martin led the Rockets with 21 points, while Kyle Lowry had 15 points and eight assists. Rookie Chandler Parsons scored 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, all in the fourth quarter.

Memphis shot 56 percent and forced 20 Houston turnovers. The Grizzlies put away the game in the third quarter, outscoring the Rockets 31-16.

Memphis opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run for a double-digit lead and eventually carried a 57-51 lead into the locker room, shooting 56 percent.

Randolph had 15 in the half, while Gasol scored 13. Martin had 19 points at the break for the Rockets and Lowry contributed 13, going a combined 10 of 16 from the field.

Memphis extended its lead by opening the second half with an 18-7 run, claiming a 75-58 margin just past the midway point of the third period.

The Grizzlies continued to pour on the offense, fueled by defense. The Rockets were 6 of 20 in the quarter, leading to Memphis outscoring Houston 31-16, giving the Grizzlies an 88-67 lead entering the fourth.

Houston made a small dent in the advantage as Parsons began hitting, scoring all his points in the fourth quarter. He was 5 of 9 from the field, connecting on all three of his shots outside the arc.

But even with a rally behind the rookie, the Rockets never really threatened.

NOTES:  Hasheem Thabeet, drafted by the Grizzlies with the No. 2 overall pick in 2009, returned to the FedExForum for the first time since he was traded to the Rockets last February. He was on the inactive list for Friday’s game. .Rockets coach Kevin McHale said fast-paced teams seem to be dominating the early games in the league, partially because of the short training camp. “Open court, free-flowing basketball is pretty instinctual to most of the NBA players,” McHale said before the game. “You don’t have to have as much structure in that as you do when you get sets. .A lot of things happen in those five-man sets with 14 seconds on the shot clock that are not good right now in the NBA.” .Patrick Patterson, in his second season out of Kentucky, saw his first action of the season after being inactive for the first two games with a right ankle injury. .Grizzlies starting point guard Mike Conley did not dress for the game, still suffering from a left ankle injury suffered in the opening minutes of Memphis’ Wednesday night loss to Oklahoma City.

 

Zach Randolph scored 23 points, Marc Gasol added 20, and the
Memphis Grizzlies earned their first victory of the season, beating
the Houston Rockets 113-93 on Friday night.

Randolph shot 11 of 14 and grabbed nine rebounds. Gasol and Rudy
Gay, who finished with 10 points, each had eight boards as Memphis
outrebounded the Rockets 42-33.

Six Grizzlies finished in double figures, including Jeremy
Pargo’s 14 and 13 by Quincy Pondexter.

Kevin Martin led the Rockets with 21 points, while Kyle Lowry
had 15 points and eight assists. Rookie Chandler Parsons scored 13
points, including a trio of 3-pointers, all in the fourth
quarter.

Memphis shot 56 percent and forced 20 Houston turnovers. The
Grizzlies put away the game in the third quarter, outscoring the
Rockets 31-16.

Memphis opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run for a
double-digit lead and eventually carried a 57-51 lead into the
locker room, shooting 56 percent.

Randolph had 15 in the half, while Gasol scored 13. Martin had
19 points at the break for the Rockets and Lowry contributed 13,
going a combined 10 of 16 from the field.

Memphis extended its lead by opening the second half with an
18-7 run, claiming a 75-58 margin just past the midway point of the
third period.

The Grizzlies continued to pour on the offense, fueled by
defense. The Rockets were 6 of 20 in the quarter, leading to
Memphis outscoring Houston 31-16, giving the Grizzlies an 88-67
lead entering the fourth.

Houston made a small dent in the advantage as Parsons began
hitting, scoring all his points in the fourth quarter. He was 5 of
9 from the field, connecting on all three of his shots outside the
arc.

But even with a rally behind the rookie, the Rockets never
really threatened.

NOTES: Hasheem Thabeet, drafted by the Grizzlies with the No. 2
overall pick in 2009, returned to the FedExForum for the first time
since he was traded to the Rockets last February. He was on the
inactive list for Friday’s game. .Rockets coach Kevin McHale said
fast-paced teams seem to be dominating the early games in the
league, partially because of the short training camp. “Open court,
free-flowing basketball is pretty instinctual to most of the NBA
players,” McHale said before the game. “You don’t have to have as
much structure in that as you do when you get sets. .A lot of
things happen in those five-man sets with 14 seconds on the shot
clock that are not good right now in the NBA.” .Patrick Patterson,
in his second season out of Kentucky, saw his first action of the
season after being inactive for the first two games with a right
ankle injury. .Grizzlies starting point guard Mike Conley did not
dress for the game, still suffering from a left ankle injury
suffered in the opening minutes of Memphis’ Wednesday night loss to
Oklahoma City.

Houston Rockets guard Goran Dragic was met by a wall of Grizzlies defenders as soon as he entered the paint in the fourth quarter.

Dragic was forced into an awkward layup attempt that barely nicked the rim, and Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay was there to gobble up the rebound. Gay, off and running, ended that sequence by feeding Quincy Pondexter on a crowd-pleasing, alley-oop dunk.

Hustle, defense and high-percentage shots characterized the Grizzlies’ first win this season — a 113-93 victory over the Rockets Friday night in FedExForum.

The Griz (1-2) opened the second half with ball-hawking defense that allowed them to establish a double-digit lead that eventually swelled to 25 points.

“We just knew we needed this game,” Gay said. “We came out with some aggression.”

Houston (1-2) was playing the second game of a back-to-back-to-back set. And the Rockets — coached by Kevin McHale after he replaced Rick Adelman in the offseason — didn’t look nearly as feisty as they have against the Griz over the past two seasons.

“It’s nice to be on the (right) end of a beating when Houston and Memphis plays,” said Griz coach Lionel Hollins, whose team enjoyed 56-percent shooting. “We’ve taken some real beatings from them over the last few years. I like where we’re going. We’re building back the chemistry we had last year.”

Six Grizzlies scored in double figures, which included Zach Randolph’s team-high 23 points and nine rebounds. Marc Gasol added 20 points and eight boards in 29 minutes.

Memphis forced 20 turnovers, dominated paint scoring (56-36) and won the rebounding battle, 42-33. The Griz had all facets of their game in order after dropping their first two games.

“This is more of who we are,” said Gasol, who also blocked five shots. “You saw some things against the (Oklahoma City) Thunder. But we did it for longer periods in this game.”

The Griz came out of halftime with a 57-51 lead and determination to create distance. They used an 18-7 run to storm ahead 75-58 behind an active defense. Memphis picked up steals, took charges and raced out for transition baskets while outscoring Houston 31-16 in the third period.

“I was glad with what our defense was doing,” Hollins said. “We were really focused. I think at one time we had five stops in a row. There were nine times when we had three stops in a row. We were consistent. We were focused and we were talking.”

Hollins singled out Randolph for playing his best defense in a Grizzly uniform.

“That’s something I’m trying to focus on — helping guys out and being in better (defensive) position,” Randolph said after collecting three steals to match Gasol.

Memphis had 10 steals and held Houston to 41-percent shooting in the second half.

“This is a team where you have got to really protect the paint even more and we just weren’t able to do that,” McHale said. “They got to the line too much and they got the ball inside.”

Randolph had 15 points and Gasol added 13 in the first half.

The Griz built their first double-digit lead behind a 10-2 run. They led 40-30 after O.J. Mayo fed Randolph under the basket for a reverse layup that accompanied a whistle. Randolph converted the free throw for a three-point play.

Memphis was in rhythm offensively from the start, with Randolph making seven of his first eight shots to the team’s shooting 68 percent and scoring 30 points in the opening quarter.

Everybody got in on the act, too, with the Grizzlies’ reserves matching the starters’ proficiency.

Jeremy Pargo, making his first start in place of an injured Mike Conley at point guard, finished with 14 points; Pondexter chipped in 13 points and Mayo added 10.

“The guards go out there and do our best to win that battle at the end of the night,” said Pargo, who lauded rookie Josh Selby’s seven-assist, one-turnover night. “That’s one thing we talk about all of the time — taking advantage of opportunities. He had an opportunity to come in and played well.”

Tip-ins: The Griz are on the verge of re-signing backup center Hamed Haddadi, general manager Chris Wallace confirmed. Haddadi, an unrestricted free agent, attended the game after arriving in Memphis from Dubai earlier in the day. The Griz are expected to sign Haddadi to a one-year deal. … Former Griz center Hasheem Thabeet returned to FedExForum for the first time since he was traded to Houston for Shane Battier last season. The No. 2 overall pick in 2009 was inactive. … Conley, still nursing a left ankle sprain, sat on the bench in street clothes. He’s also expected to sit out the Grizzlies’ game Sunday at Chicago.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Zach Randolph scored 23 points, Marc Gasol added 20, and the Memphis Grizzlies earned their first victory of the season, beating the Houston Rockets 113-93 on Friday night.

Randolph shot 11 of 14 and grabbed nine rebounds. Gasol and Rudy Gay, who finished with 10 points, each had eight boards as Memphis outrebounded the Rockets 42-33.

Six Grizzlies finished in double figures, including Jeremy Pargo’s 14 and 13 by Quincy Pondexter.

Kevin Martin led the Rockets with 21 points, while Kyle Lowry had 15 points and eight assists. Rookie Chandler Parsons scored 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, all in the fourth quarter.

Memphis shot 56 percent and forced 20 Houston turnovers. The Grizzlies put away the game in the third quarter, outscoring the Rockets 31-16.

Memphis opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run for a double-digit lead and eventually carried a 57-51 lead into the locker room, shooting 56 percent.

Randolph had 15 in the half, while Gasol scored 13. Martin had 19 points at the break for the Rockets and Lowry contributed 13, going a combined 10 of 16 from the field.

Memphis extended its lead by opening the second half with an 18-7 run, claiming a 75-58 margin just past the midway point of the third period.

The Grizzlies continued to pour on the offense, fueled by defense. The Rockets were 6 of 20 in the quarter, leading to Memphis outscoring Houston 31-16, giving the Grizzlies an 88-67 lead entering the fourth.

Houston made a small dent in the advantage as Parsons began hitting, scoring all his points in the fourth quarter. He was 5 of 9 from the field, connecting on all three of his shots outside the arc.

But even with a rally behind the rookie, the Rockets never really threatened.

NOTES: Hasheem Thabeet, drafted by the Grizzlies with the No. 2 overall pick in 2009, returned to the FedExForum for the first time since he was traded to the Rockets last February. He was on the inactive list for Friday’s game. .Rockets coach Kevin McHale said fast-paced teams seem to be dominating the early games in the league, partially because of the short training camp. “Open court, free-flowing basketball is pretty instinctual to most of the NBA players,” McHale said before the game. “You don’t have to have as much structure in that as you do when you get sets. .A lot of things happen in those five-man sets with 14 seconds on the shot clock that are not good right now in the NBA.” .Patrick Patterson, in his second season out of Kentucky, saw his first action of the season after being inactive for the first two games with a right ankle injury. .Grizzlies starting point guard Mike Conley did not dress for the game, still suffering from a left ankle injury suffered in the opening minutes of Memphis’ Wednesday night loss to Oklahoma City.

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