Grizzlies 94, Timberwolves 90: Zach Randolph racked up 26 points and 12 rebounds and knocked down a couple of key shots late as visiting Memphis beat Minnesota to match its season-high with a fifth straight victory.
Courtney Lee scored 16 points for the Grizzlies, who have won 10 of their last 11 games. Mike Conley contributed 12 points and eight assists before being helped off the court with a sprained right ankle midway through the fourth quarter.
Kevin Love tallied 28 points and 16 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have dropped 11 of the last 12 meetings with Memphis - including the last six in Minnesota. Kevin Martin added 14 points and Dante Cunningham and J.J. Barea each chipped in 12 off the bench.
There were seven lead changes and two ties in the fourth quarter before the Grizzlies gained some separation. Randolph put them ahead 86-85 with a short jumper in the lane and hit a fallaway jumper the next trip down, and Tayshaun Prince buried a 3-pointer from the right wing to stretch it to 91-85 with under a minute left.
Memphis used a 9-0 run spanning the first and second quarters to go up by double digits and took a 50-37 lead into halftime. After going just 3-for-7 from the field in the first half, Love hit 7-of-8 shots in the third quarter and outscored the Grizzlies 18-16 all by himself as Minnesota turned the 13-point deficit into a 67-66 lead entering the fourth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Love has recorded at least 20 points and 10 rebounds a league-best 28 times this season, and he also leads the NBA with 39 double-doubles. … Randolph has 25 doubles-doubles in his last 36 games. … Minnesota C Nikola Pekovic (ankle) missed his second straight game and Memphis G Tony Allen (wrist) sat out a 13th consecutive contest.
Memphis | Minnesota | |
Zach Randolph 26 | Scoring | Kevin Love 28 |
Mike Conley 8 | Assists | Ricky Rubio 8 |
Zach Randolph 12 | Rebounds | Kevin Love 16 |
Courtney Lee 5 | Free Throws Made | Corey Brewer 2 |
Mike Conley 3 | Steals | Dante Cunningham 1 |
Marc Gasol 2 | Blocks | Gorgui Dieng 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Memphis | 94 | 47.5 | 4-12 | 14-22 | 19 | 38 | 6 | 10 | 11 |
Minnesota | 90 | 46.4 | 6-22 | 6-7 | 18 | 46 | 4 | 5 | 14 |