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Grizzlies 99, Rockets 81
Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.
All posts by Alan DraperUpdated3 hours ago on April 19, 2024
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Technically, it wasn’t a doubleheader sweep. But the Memphis Grizzlies’ 99-81 victory over Houston Saturday night at the FedExForum was their second win over the Rockets in a 24-hour span.
On Friday night in Houston, Memphis won 88-87 despite Houston forward Chandler Parsons setting an NBA record with 10 second-half 3-pointers. Parsons didn’t fare so well Saturday, going 1-for-6 from long distance and finishing with 11 points. The Rockets shot just 37 percent (30-for-81) from the field.
The Grizzlies (22-20) had a huge edge in assists (23 to 14) and owned the boards 52-38. They shot 46.6 percent (41-for-88). This was the Grizzlies’ seventh win in their last eight games. They led by as many as 27 points in the fourth quarter.
Point guard Mike Conley paced the Grizzlies with 17 points. Power forward Zach Randolph finished with 15 points and 17 rebounds. It was Randolph’s 189th double-double with the Grizzlies, tying Pau Gasol for the franchise record. Randolph did it in 300 games while Gasol needed 476. It was Randolph’s 26th double-double this season.
Shooting guard Courtney Lee added 15 points for Memphis and, off the bench, center Kosta Koufos scored 14, James Johnson chipped in 12, and point guard Nick Calathes had 11.
Houston (29-17) got 16 points from guard James Harden and 10 points and 12 rebounds from center Dwight Howard.
Memphis led 46-35 at halftime and owned an overwhelming 23-2 advantage in bench points; Koufos scored eight on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor.
While the Grizzlies handed out 11 first-half assists and made just four turnovers, the Rockets had only six assists with nine turnovers. Houston also shot but four free throws — all by Howard — and he missed every one of them.
Parsons led all first-half scorers with nine points; he was only 1-for-4 from 3-point range. Howard and Conley each had eight points.
NOTES: Not only did F Chandler Parsons set a career high with 34 points and 10 3-point baskets on Friday night in the loss to the Grizzlies in Houston, he raised some other standards, too: the NBA record for most 3s in a half, the Rockets’ franchise record for 3s in a game and the Grizzlies’ opponent record for 3s in a game. “He got on one of those rolls,” Houston coach Kevin McHale said. … From Dec. 21 through Jan. 24, Memphis won 11 of 16 games and ranked fifth in the NBA in winning percentage (.688) and fourth in point differential (plus-4.8). … Only Warriors F David Lee (79) has more double-doubles than Houston C Dwight Howard (77) and Memphis PF Zach Randolph (70) since the start of last season. … In two games against Memphis this season, Rockets G James Harden was averaging 18.5 points on just 20.0 percent shooting from the floor.
