{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
Memphis 102, Utah 95
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 28, 2017
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Officials: #36 Brent Barnaky, #34 Kevin Cutler, #4 Sean Wright
Attendance: 19911

SALT LAKE CITY -- Defense isn't the only weapon in the Memphis arsenal.

When the top playmakers for the Grizzlies find their shot, it adds a new element to the grit and toughness that has become the team's trademark over the past few seasons.

Utah experienced such a scenario Saturday night. The Grizzlies pulled away for a 102-95 victory over the Jazz simply because they attacked Utah in every way possible. Memphis controlled the paint over key stretches and lit it up from outside as soon as the Jazz tightened up things around the basket.

In a game of pick-your-poison, Utah couldn't find the antidote long enough to cage the Grizzlies.

"Z-Bo (Zach Randolph) had so many opportunities down low early," Conley said. "We just kept trying to exploit that as long as we could. Then when they took that away, we went to Marc. Then when they took that away, we went to me. We were just trying to go down the line and find different areas to attack them."

Randolph scored a season-high 28 points and collected a team-high nine rebounds to lead Memphis. Conley added 23 points and Gasol chipped in 18. The trio combined to shoot 61 percent from the field.

It was enough to help the Grizzlies win the season series 3-1 over Utah.

Memphis outscored Utah 48-32 in the paint. The Grizzlies shot 51 percent from the field overall -- including 42 percent from distance.

"They have a lot of guys down there that are capable of putting up high numbers every night," Jazz guard George Hill said. "They have good players and we have to respect that, but a lot of breakdowns in coverages gave them some open looks. They hit a lot of tough shots late in the shot clock, also."

Rodney Hood scored 20 points and Hill added 16 to lead the Jazz. Alec Burks and Rudy Gobert chipped in 15 points apiece. Utah (30-19) lost for the third time in four games.

Hill provided Utah an early spark in the first quarter. Starting with a running dunk set up by a behind the back pass from Trey Lyles, Hill scored four baskets on four consecutive possessions to put Utah in front of Memphis. Joe Ingles and Burks built on what he started, nailing back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Jazz a 21-13 lead with 4:15 left in the first quarter.

Memphis answered with a 11-2 run to overtake Utah early in the second quarter. The Grizzlies went ahead 33-29 when Troy Daniels and Andrew Harrison scored back-to-back baskets to finish off the run.

Things didn't improve for the Jazz as the quarter progressed. Randolph had his way with every defender who tried to guard him. He totaled 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting and five rebounds before halftime. It helped Memphis built a comfortable second quarter lead.

Randolph drained a jumper and Gasol followed with a 3-pointer on the next possession to ignite an 11-3 run. Tony Allen drove for a layup to finish it off, giving the Grizzlies a 50-39 lead with 2:25 left in the half.

"We did some things that weren't intelligent and made it harder on ourselves," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "We just weren't disciplined."

Utah cut the deficit to four points early in the third quarter after Joe Johnson drained a 3-pointer to trim the Memphis lead to 55-51.

Getting closer proved impossible. Gasol made five baskets over a five minute span to keep the Jazz at arm's length. His final one in that sequence, a 3-pointer, put the Grizzlies up 74-65 with 3:48 remaining in the quarter.

The Jazz rallied again behind Hood's hot outside shooting in the fourth quarter. Utah trimmed the deficit to 90-87 on a hammer dunk from Gobert.

Conley responded with baskets on three straight possessions to put Memphis back up 97-90 with 3:27 left.

Those two stretches where Gasol and Conley came to the rescue made all the difference.

"You need that on the road from your best players," Memphis coach David Fizdale said. "That's the moment. That's what these guys get paid to do is, in that moment, step forward and be willing to take the shot. Both of those guys -- neither one of them are afraid of the moment and they both stepped up for us tonight."

NOTES: Jazz F Derrick Favors (rest) did not play, with F Trey Lyles starting in his place. ... Memphis G Chandler Parsons (rest), F Brandan Wright (ankle) and C Deytona Davis (personal reasons) all sat out. ... Jazz G Joe Ingles ranks in the top 20 in the NBA in steal percentage (2.7), steal per turnover ratio (1.15) and defensive rating (103.3). ... Grizzlies G Mike Conley is one of eight players to rank as an all-time leader in points, assists and steals on an NBA team. Conley has 9,327 points, 3,807 assists and 1,010 steals in 674 career regular-season games with Memphis. ... Utah limited Memphis to only 10 free-throw attempts.
Top Game Performances
 
Memphis   Utah
Zach Randolph 28 Scoring Rodney Hood 20
Marc Gasol 5 Assists Gordon Hayward 5
Zach Randolph 9 Rebounds Rudy Gobert 10
Zach Randolph 4 Free Throws Made Rudy Gobert 9
Tony Allen 2 Steals Boris Diaw 1
Marc Gasol 1 Blocks Rudy Gobert 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Memphis 102 51.2 11-26 9-10 13 31 1 8 7
Utah 95 46.8 10-25 27-29 19 31 4 3 13
Upcoming Games
  • Utah will play their next game at home against Milwaukee. The Jazz have a W/L % of .633 after a win and .579 after a loss.
  • Memphis will play their next game on the road against Phoenix. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .481 after a win and .682 after a loss.