MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Zach Randolph had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies thwarted a fourth-quarter rally by Denver to beat the Nuggets 92-81 on Monday night.
Marc Gasol and Tony Allen each added 14 points, while Nick Calathes finished with 12 as Memphis won its second in a row.
Memphis broke a 79-all tie in the fourth quarter by outscoring Denver 13-2 the rest of the way.
Jameer Nelson scored 24 points for the Nuggets on 11-of-18 shooting, while starting backcourt mate Randy Foye finished with 16 points. Wilson Chandler scored 13 for Denver, making both his 3-point shots.
The Nuggets, who had won four in a row, were coming off a double-overtime win at New Orleans on Sunday. Denver rested starters Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari, eliminating an average of 38.6 points, plus their leading rebounder (Faried) and assist leader (Lawson).
Memphis dominated the inside, outscoring the Nuggets 46-30 in the paint and outrebounding them 57-37. That included 20 offensive rebounds for Memphis, contributing to a 17-2 advantage in second-chance points.
Denver was able to stay close with its 3-point shooting, converting 8 of 18 shots from outside the arc.
Memphis struggled to put away the Nuggets, even with a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. Nelson and Gary Harris made 3-pointers, and another basket from Nelson and a dunk by J.J. Hickson comprised a 10-0 run for Denver near the midway point of the fourth to tie the game at 79.
Memphis then made its final push to collect a double-digit victory.
The Nuggets used an 11-0 run to open the second half for their first lead of the game on Nelson’s drive. Memphis had led by as many as 11 in the first half, before it settled into a close contest for the third quarter with three ties and four lead changes in the period.
The Grizzlies took a 65-63 lead to the fourth.
Memphis led 47-37 after a sloppy first half that featured poor shooting and too many turnovers – 10 for Denver, 13 for Memphis.
Randolph already had his 34th double-double of the season, finishing the half with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Nelson recorded 11 points for Denver, which was able to stay close by hitting 4-of-10 from 3-point range.
However, the Nuggets’ starting frontline was a combined 2-of-12 for the half. The trio of Chandler, Darrell Arthur and Jusuf Nurkic finished the game a combined 5-of-23 from the field.
