Grizzlies beat Mavs again, sans All-Stars

DALLAS — Desmond Bane scored 23 points and the Memphis Grizzlies won a second consecutive game against Dallas with all three All-Stars out, beating the Mavericks 104-88 on Monday night.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were out for Dallas with injuries, and Ja Morant remained away from the Grizzlies because of his issues off the court.

Doncic is dealing with a left calf strain that required an MRI, which revealed no significant damage. Irving has right foot soreness.

With all three absent just as they were in Memphis’ 112-108 victory Saturday to start the home-and-home, rookie David Roddy played a big role for the Grizzlies again.

The 23rd overall draft pick scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting two nights after getting 17 of his career-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, when Memphis erased an 11-point deficit.

There was no need for a late rally in the rematch after the Grizzlies opened the second half with a 12-0 run and outscored Dallas 36-21 in the third quarter, when the Mavs shot 31%.

Rookie Jaden Hardy scored 28 points for the Mavericks, who dropped under .500 for the first time since December. Josh Green was the only other Dallas player in double figures with 23.

The Mavs, who paired Irving with Doncic by giving up two starters and a first-round pick in the blockbuster trade with Brooklyn, are currently in the play-in tournament with 13 games remaining a year after reaching the Western Conference finals.

The Grizzlies, comfortably in the top six in the West, won a second consecutive game after losing the first three games of Morant’s sabbatical.

Morant is away from the team after posting a video recently in which the 23-year-old two-time All-Star appeared to be displaying a gun at a Denver-area strip club.

Both teams also were missing a key frontcourt player, with Memphis’ Steven Adams out with a right knee sprain and Dallas’ Christian Wood scratched before the game because of right foot soreness.

UP NEXT

Grizzlies: At Miami on Wednesday. The Grizzlies have won five the past six games against the Heat.

Mavericks: A three-game trip starts Wednesday in San Antonio. The Mavs have six consecutive victories against the Spurs.