January 25, 2015
Brandon Dill/AP
Sixers forward Luc Mbah a Moute, left, defends Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Zach Randolph had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Jeff Green scored 18 as the Memphis Grizzlies coasted to a 101-83 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.
Vince Carter added 13 points as the Grizzlies (31-12) won their sixth in the last seven games.
Memphis led by as many as 25 in the second half, allowing coach Dave Joerger to rest his starters in the fourth quarter. Marc Gasol, selected as an All-Star starter, finished with nine points, as did point guard Mike Conley.
Jerami Grant, the 39th overall pick in last summer's draft out of Syracuse, led the Sixers with a career-high 16 points. Michael Carter-Williams was the only other Philadelphia player in double figures with 10 points going 3 of 12 from the field.
The Sixers shot 38 percent for the game and committed 24 turnovers.
Memphis needed a 41-point fourth quarter to eventually defeat the Sixers 120-115 in overtime on Dec. 13. The return match in Memphis was never really close after the Grizzlies took a double-digit lead early in the second quarter.
As usual, Memphis dominated the paint 52-32. But the 76ers, who lost their fifth straight, out-rebounded Memphis 48-47 and held a 20-12 advantage in fast-break points.
That wasn't enough to overcome the poor ball handling and shooting percentage.
Memphis dominated the first half, holding leads up to 24 and carrying a 60-41 advantage into the break, as Green had 11.
The Sixers shot 40 percent and committed 13 turnovers before intermission. Both teams shot well from outside the arc, Memphis hitting 4 of 6 and the Sixers connecting on half of their 10 shots from 3-point range.
Things stayed about the same through three quarters. Randolph had reached his double-double and Memphis continued to play sloppy at times, committing a handful of turnovers in the frame. But the Sixers continued to shoot poorly, converting 7 of 24 in the frame as Memphis took an 81-61 lead into the fourth.
76ers: Philadelphia was without leading scorer Tony Wroten, who the team announced has a partial ACL tear in his right knee that will require surgery. ...The loss marked the 26th time the 76ers have lost by double digits. .They have lost 16 of 17 road games to the Western Conference.
Coach Brett Brown was whistled for a technical foul in the third quarter for yelling. But he was yelling at his own player, and once the officials realized the target of his comments, they waived it off.
Grizzlies: Memphis shuffled its lineup for the second straight game, with Courtney Lee returning at starting guard and Tony Allen coming off the bench. .Randolph's double-double was his eighth straight since returning from his knee injury. He also converted his second 3-pointer of the season. .No Memphis starter played more than 28 minutes.
76ers: At Pelicans on Monday.
Grizzlies: Host Magic on Monday.
