Zach Randolph finished with 23 points and 20 rebounds, and Rudy Gay scored 16 as the Memphis Grizzlies easily dispatched the stumbling Dallas Mavericks, 89-70, on Saturday.
Darrell Arthur added 17 points off the bench for the Grizzlies, who won for just the second time this season against a Southwest Division opponent.
Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki made his return to the lineup following a nine-game absence due to a knee injury but he did not last long, managing 15 minutes and seven points before being ejected at the 8:08 mark of the third quarter after receiving two technicals for arguing with officials.
By then Memphis already had the game in control, shooting out to a 31-19 lead in the first quarter and cruising into the half up, 46-36. While Nowitzki was expressing his frustrations to the officials in the third quarter, his team was slumping to 12 points in the frame, allowing the Grizzlies to pull away.
Ian Mahinmi scored 17 off the bench and Shawn Marion added 11 as the only players to finish in double figures for Dallas, whose previous season-low for points was 76 against Toronto on Dec. 28 - the first game Nowitzki missed.
Dallas | Memphis | |
Ian Mahinmi 17 | Scoring | Zach Randolph 23 |
Jason Kidd 4 | Assists | Mike Conley 6 |
Brendan Haywood 6 | Rebounds | Zach Randolph 20 |
Ian Mahinmi 5 | Free Throws Made | Darrell Arthur 5 |
Jason Terry 3 | Steals | O.J. Mayo 3 |
Brendan Haywood 1 | Blocks | Sam Young 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Dallas | 70 | 32.4 | 6-31 | 16-23 | 13 | 38 | 3 | 7 | 14 |
Memphis | 89 | 47.4 | 3-12 | 14-15 | 20 | 42 | 7 | 8 | 13 |