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.
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