Court Vision: Grizzlies survive resting Nuggets behind Randolph's big night
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Denver rested Monday, in anticipation for the draft maybe, Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari. Without Mike Conley, the Memphis Grizzlies (47-20) rested for much of the third quarter but won their second straight, 92-81, over the Nuggets.
1. Z-Bo bullied his way to another double-double
Prior to the game, Nuggets interim head coach Melvin Hunt called Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph "a bully."
"You handle with care," Hunt said. "I like to call him a groundhog. He's a ground dweller. He jumps about three or four inches off the ground and just carves you up with every possession."
After a Marc Gasol miss in the first quarter, Randolph barely came off the ground to tap, tap, and tap the ball until he came down with it. That resulted in a Nick Calathes bucket.
He tipped in a Beno Udrih miss in the second quarter and in 13 minutes had his 34th double-double.
He aggressively went after former teammate Darrell Arthur for his 16th and 17th points in the third quarter.
Good thing he was bullying. Until Tony Allen scored to open the fourth quarter -- to give the Grizzlies a 67-63 lead -- Randolph was alone in double figures. That, and Jameer Nelson, the rookie from way back in 2004, went off. Nelson scored 24 points on 11-of-18 shooting. Randolph finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds (eight offensive) in nearly 39 minutes, his 16th 20/10 game of the season. The Grizzlies are now 14-2 in those games.
2. Nick Calathes finished what Beno Udrih started
Conley sat his third straight game, resting a sprained right ankle. He may or may not play Tuesday in Detroit. Udrih drew the start at point and scored nine points on 4-of-8 shooting.
As a starter -- his seventh this year -- Udrih had shot 58 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3. He hit his first three shots, still making short jumpers look can-of-cornish. He broke up a fast-break thanks to hustle, getting a finger on a long pass to Nelson.
Then Calathes took over. That backup point guard added 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting. He had five rebounds, three assists and two steals, his 15th multiple-steal game.
"Injuries happen. We both have to be ready and step up whenever whoever goes down," Udrih said. "Whenever coach calls our name to step up, we've got to be there and help this team win."
In a tie game, Udrih put Memphis ahead with an assertive drive with 4:03 left. That started a 7-0 run that sealed the deal, a deal the Grizzlies can no longer afford not to seal, now two games up on third-place Portland, Friday's visitor.
3. That third quarter: Woof
Cedric "The Entertainer" is bringing the Black & Brown Comedy Tour to FedExForum in April. There was nothing funny about the Grizzlies' third quarter and really about anything post-All-Star break.
Allen has already been suspended for a game after an interaction with Calathes and there was more barking Monday among Allen, as well as others.
Allen and Udrih called it "competitive spirit." It led to a win despite the Grizzlies going 4:29 without scoring as Denver (26-42) went on an 11-0 run to take its first lead.
The third-quarter crowd didn't even bother to ovate Allen's entrance, a rare omission.
But it was Allen who got the Grizzlies back in it. He fought for an offensive rebound and hit a pair of free throws that put the Grizzlies up a point. He then scored underneath from Calathes, all while Denver stayed in the game.
The Nuggets, down only two after the third quarter, were still in it in the third minute of the fourth quarter, when Allen grabbed a rebound and flexed for the finally-rejuvenated 16,641 in the building.
"He comes in, turns the water off on different guys and then goes to another guy," Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said. "There were parts of the game he struggled with tonight, as far as how well he's been playing. But he plays so hard and I left him out there a long, long time."
Allen played 35 minutes, 19 seconds, more than double Jeff Green's starting minutes. He stared down the crowd again in the third after wrestling a rebound away from Wilson Chandler and closed the game with a slam.
20 -- That's the amount of turnovers the Grizzlies had. The Nuggets, who scored 19 points off the takeaways, gave it away 16 times for 14 points.
20 -- The Grizzlies had 20 offensive boards and outrebounded the Nuggets 57-37 without Faried in there. It led to 17 second-chance points to Denver's two.
