MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Zach Randolph scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half and Mario Chalmers made a pair of 3-pointers in the final 1:30 to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 91-84 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
Chalmers scored 12 points in the game, with eight in the last 90 seconds to keep the Nuggets at bay.
Jeff Green finished with 16 points, Matt Barnes scored 15 and Marc Gasol had 12 points and five steals. Tony Allen had 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals as Memphis won its fourth in the last six.
Danilo Gallinari had 29 points for Denver, while Darrell Arthur finished with 12 points, all in the second half. Gary Harris scored 11 points as the Nuggets lost for the 10th time in the last 12 games.
The game was sloppy, with neither team shooting better than 37 percent. Denver dominated the boards 59-43, including 19 off the offensive glass contributing to 18 second-chance points.
But the Nuggets committed 18 turnovers – 10 more than Memphis – and the Grizzlies were 8 of 18 from outside the arc compared to 4 of 19 for the Nuggets.
The Grizzlies held an 80-78 lead after Arthur’s 17-footer from the baseline with 3:17 left. But Randolph’s 6-foot fadeaway and Chalmers’ first 3-pointer started a 7-2 run for the Grizzlies down the stretch.
Memphis squandered a 12-point halftime lead with a lackluster third quarter. Arthur provided an offensive punch to erase the Denver deficit, scoring 10 in the period. Gallinari had nine and Memphis held a 67-66 lead heading into the final frame.
Denver could not maintain an early eight-point advantage, as Memphis turned up the defense and forced the Nuggets into 11 first-half turnovers and 29 percent shooting. That included Denver connecting on only 3 of 21 shots in the second quarter.
Memphis broke a 37-all tie to score the final 12 points of the half for a 49-37 lead.
TIP-INS:
Nuggets: Arthur started in place of F Kenneth Faried, who missed the game for the birth of his child. . Will Barton, who was averaging 20.1 points in the last 17 games, failed to reach double figures for the third straight game, scoring six, going 3 of 11 from the field.
Grizzlies: The game was the first of a six-game homestand for Memphis, the longest for the team since late 2013. . Chalmers started in place of PG Mike Conley, who missed his second game with a sore left Achilles. Courtney Lee also sat out with a left hip contusion. . Memphis held Denver to only seven points in the second quarter, the least of any Memphis opponent for a quarter this season.
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Host Charlotte on Sunday
Grizzlies: Host Boston on Sunday
