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Grizzlies 82, Pacers 71
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
MEMPHIS — Guard Mike Conley scored 21 points, forward Zach Randolph added 18 points and 13 rebounds and reserve guard Mike Miller scored 13 to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to an 82-71 victory Saturday night over the Indiana Pacers.
The Grizzles (41-28) extended their home winning streak to nine and won for the 15th time in their last 17 games at FedExForum. The Pacers had their three-game win streak against the Grizzlies snapped.
Indiana (51-19) was led by guard Lance Stephenson, who had 15. Forward Paul George, the Pacers’ leading scorer, was held to eight points on 2-of-10 shooting. He entered the game with a 22.1 average.
The Grizzlies were playing the second game of a challenging back-to-back. Memphis lost to the Miami Heat, the Southeast Division leader, Friday night in Miami and before beating the Pacers, the leaders in the Central Division, Saturday. Miami and Indiana are the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
Leading 43-30 at the half, the Grizzlies maintained a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter and extended their advantage to 15 on several occasions. Randolph scored eight of his points in the quarter and center Marc Gasol had five. Gasol was playing despite injuring his ankle in Friday night’s game in Miami. He finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Pacers made a brief run to start the fourth. When guard Evan Turner made a 3-pointer, it was part of a 7-2 run that cut the Grizzlies lead to 10 (66-56). But the Pacers could get no closer.
Indiana entered the game having won five of its last six and limiting opponents to 38.9 percent shooting. Memphis shot 46 percent in the first half and 44 percent for the game.
The Grizzlies built a 13-point halftime lead behind the shooting of Conley and Miller, who combined for 24 points and were 9-of-14 from the field. Conley scored nine of the team’s first 13 points as Memphis grabbed a 13-4 advantage and Miller scored his 13 points in the second quarter as he connected on four of six from 3-point range and helped the Grizzlies a 43-30 halftime lead. Miller dropped in consecutive 3-pointers early in the second quarter to allow the Grizzlies to pull away when the Pacers had trimmed the Memphis advantage to one, 22-21.
NOTES: Grizzlies C Marc Gasol sprained his left ankle in Friday night’s loss at Miami, but was in the starting lineup Saturday. … The Pacers signed C Andrew Bynum on Feb. 1 after he was placed on suspension by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but Bynum is out indefinitely with soreness and swelling in his right knee. He appeared in two games with the Pacers, but missed his fourth straight Saturday. … Grizzlies reserve C Kosta Koufos was called for a technical foul on the final play of the first quarter when he pushed F Paul George to the ground. The two became entangled on a last-second shot by Koufos. … The Grizzlies improved to 11-5 this season when playing the back end of back-to-back games. They are 5-0 when playing the second game at home. … The Grizzlies announced a sellout of 18,119.
