East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbooks) - Rudy Gay poured in 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds, as the
Memphis Grizzlies rallied in the second half to defeat the woeful
New Jersey Nets, 104-94, at the IZOD Center.
O.J. Mayo added 24 points, seven assists, and six rebounds for the Grizzlies, who had lost six of seven coming in. Zach Randolph tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Marc Gasol donated 16 and eight for the victors.
"We really did a good job moving the ball tonight, especially in the second half," Gay said. "Coach had the confidence in me tonight. We were really moving the ball well tonight. Give compliments to our team. We had a really unselfish group tonight."
Brook Lopez finished with 26 points and nine rebounds for the Nets, who have dropped the first three tests of a four-game homestand since their fifth win of the season at Charlotte on February 16.
Devin Harris chipped in 17 points and 13 assists. Yi Jianlian and Courtney Lee had 15 and 12 points, respectively, in defeat.
Trailing 74-66 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the third, the Grizzlies bridged the final two frames with a 17-0 run. Mayo scored the final seven points of the spurt, including a three-pointer to give Memphis an 83-74 lead a minute into the fourth.
New Jersey fought right back with an ensuing 8-2 flurry. Terrence Williams' slam cut the deficit to 85-82 with 7:46 to play.
However, the Grizzlies responded with seven consecutive points to essentially seal the victory. Gasol's driving layup extended Memphis' margin to 92-82 with 6 1/2 minutes remaining.
The Nets never got closer than four the rest of the way.
"We continue to make the same mistakes," Harris said. "Until we learn from it, it's going to be tough to try to win these games. We got to be better."
The Nets had their best quarter all season in the first to jump out to an early lead, closing on a 16-2 run. Lopez tallied nine points during the burst that Keyon Dooling capped with a trey for a 36-20 margin after 12 minutes.
The Grizzlies never got closer than 11 in the second and trailed 58-47 at the break.
A Lopez hook shot and Harris deuce had the Nets in front 62-47 a minute into the third. But Memphis responded with a 19-6 flurry to get within two. Gasol had six points during the spurt, which Randolph ended with a layup to make it 68-66 with less than six minutes to go.
Game Notes
This was the first meeting between New Jersey and Memphis this season...The Grizzlies were without recently acquired swingman Ronnie Brewer, who suffered a partially torn right hamstring Friday and will be out indefinitely...Randolph had six offensive rebounds to tie Pau Gasol's single- season franchise record for total offensive boards (238 in 2001-02).
