Jan 29, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph (50) handles the ball against Denver Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur (00) and Denver Nuggets forward Alonzo Gee (1) during the game at FedExForum. Memphis Grizzlies beat Denver Nuggets 99 -69. Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Forward Zach Randolph posted his 11th consecutive double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 99-69 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
The Grizzlies (34-12) earned their ninth win in 10 games overall and their seventh in their past eight home games.
Randolph, averaging 17 points and 12 rebounds since returning from a right knee injury Jan. 9, did not play in the fourth quarter. The Grizzlies rested their starters after ending the third with a 25-point lead.
Forward Jeff Green added 13 points for Memphis, and guards Courtney Lee, Beno Udrih and Nick Calathes scored 11 each. The Grizzlies are 7-1 since acquiring Green in a three-team trade with the Boston Celtics and New Orleans Pelicans three weeks ago and 5-0 since moving him into the starting lineup.
Denver, which lost for the eighth time in nine games, shot 2-for-26 from beyond the arc and 33.3 percent from the floor overall. Forwards Wilson Chandler and Kenneth Faried had 10 points each to lead the Nuggets (19-28).
Leading by 15 at the half, the Grizzlies extended the margin to 74-49 after three quarters and built an 86-53 cushion midway through the fourth behind their reserves.
Despite playing without injured starting guard Mike Conley for the second straight game, the Grizzlies jumped quickly to a 19-9 lead thanks to Conley’s replacement. Udrih had seven points during the rapid start.
The Grizzlies shot 52 percent in the first quarter and led 26-11. They boosted their lead to 19 late in the second quarter by taking advantage of poor shooting by the Nuggets. Denver missed 12 of its 13 3-point attempts in the first half, including all five tries in the second quarter, to allow Memphis to build a 50-35 halftime lead. The Nuggets shot 19 percent in the first quarter and 34 percent in the half.
The only negative for the Grizzlies in the half came midway through the second quarter when reserve swingman Vince Carter sustained a left foot injury and had to be helped off the floor.
NOTES: The Grizzlies’ 114-85 loss at Denver on Jan. 3 was Memphis’ laregst margin of defeat this season. Grizzlies F Zach Randolph did not play in the game. He was in the midst of missing nine straight games with a right knee injury. … Nuggets C JaVale McGee returned to action and scored two points in 15 minutes Thursday. He missed 77 games last season with a stress fracture in his left tibia, has missed 23 games this season with a strain in the surgically repaired leg. … Grizzlies PG Mike Conley missed his second consecutive game due to a sprained left wrist. Conley is averaging a career-best 17.4 points.
