GRIZZLIES

the basket.”

The Griz earned a number of baskets with the benefit of their defense. They scored 27 points off the Rockets’ 18 turnovers. Even the long ball made a big difference for the Griz.

When the Rockets closed a 15-point gap to five with 2:58 left, Griz point guard Mike Conley calmly sank a 3-pointer. Rudy Gay then scooped up a steal that led to O.J. Mayo’s layup in transition.

Memphis took an 89-79 lead with 2:06 left after that sequence.

Conley’s 21 points led the Griz. They had five players score in double figures, including Gay’s 20 points, and center Marc Gasol chipped in 18.

The Griz converted 5 of 9 3-pointers. Conley had three and Mayo connected on a pair of clutch shots from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter.

That the Griz also held the Rockets to 38.5 percent shooting was indicative of how active they were defensively.

“We had five guys playing collectively for 48 minutes,” Griz guard Tony Allen said. “I believe we wanted it more than them.”

Allen didn’t get any argument from Rockets coach Kevin Mchale after the game. Point guard Kyle Lowry (24 points) was the only Houston starter to score in double figures.

Shooting guard Kevin Martin went scoreless with just three shots in 18 minutes.

“They played harder than we did,” Mchale said. “It took us a long time to get engaged in the type of game it was, which was going to be a grind-it- out, hard one as you could see in the first quarter. You can’t ease into a game like that. You have to come out ready for it.”

Conley, Gay, Allen, Gasol and Marreese Speights combined to make 21 of 31 field goals by halftime when the Griz took a 52-43 advantage into the locker room. Memphis began the third quarter with a 10-4 run that put it ahead by 15 with eight minutes left.

“It was a must-win game –- a division game,” Mayo said. “We knew how important it was after the Utah game (the Griz lost Sunday night).”

Houston kept misfiring along the perimeter but then decided to switch to a small lineup. Lowry also found another gear, scoring 13 points in the third on routine drives to the basket.

“They had to do something different,” Gasol said. “They had to do something because we were getting easy baskets.” — Ronald Tillery:

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Nikki Boertman/the Commercial Appeal Grizzlies center Marc Gasol had 18 points and seven rebounds to help Memphis hand Patrick Patterson and the Rockets their second straight loss.