DENVER — Forward Zach Randolph had 22 points, forward Matt Barnes had 16, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Denver Nuggets 103-96 on Monday night.
Guard Mario Chalmers had 15 off the bench for the Grizzlies (35-24), who are now 5-2 without center Marc Gasol. The team’s leading scorer had season-ending surgery on his fractured right foot in February.
Memphis has compensated for Gasol’s absence with a group effort. Five players scored in double figures.
Forward Kenneth Faried had 16 points and 11 rebounds and guard Gary Harris scored 15 for the Nuggets (23-37), who were playing for their first game without leading scorer Danilo Gallinari.
Gallinari suffered a severely sprained right ankle in Friday’s overtime loss at Dallas. An MRI showed no fracture but he will be out at least three weeks.
Forward JaKarr Sampson, who got the start in place of Gallinari, scored seven points and had three of Denver’s 20 turnovers.
Denver missed Gallinari’s ability to get to the free-throw line. He is averaging 8.2 attempts per game and the Nuggets didn’t shoot their eighth foul shot until the fourth quarter.
They finished eight-for-10 from the line and had only three attempts in the second half.
The game was tied at 71 through three quarters and neither team led by more than eight. D.J. Augustin’s layup early in the fourth gave Denver a 78-76 lead with 9:33 left, its first since midway through the first quarter.
The lead changed hands three times over the next four minutes. After Harris scored on a fast break to cut Memphis’ lead to 90-89, Randolph scored two straight layups to extend the lead to five with 4:01 left.
Faried’s layup made it 94-91 but the Nuggets missed three shots and had three turnovers in the last 3:10. Randolph hit a hook shot with 44 seconds left, and the Grizzlies hit five free throws down the stretch to seal it.
NOTES: Grizzlies C Brandan Wright was out with a right knee injury suffered in Saturday’s loss at Phoenix. Wright is averaging 6.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game this season. … Denver F JaKarr Sampson will get be one of the players that sees more minutes with F Danilo Gallinari out with a sprained right ankle. Sampson was signed Feb. 22 and got his first start with Denver on Monday. Gallinari is expected to miss at least three weeks with the injury. … The Grizzlies lead the NBA in turnover differential. … Nuggets C Jusuf Nurkic did not play in the three games heading into Monday. Coach Michael Malone said the glut of big men and Nurkic’s sore left knee has kept him out of the rotation.