MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Grizzlies cruised to a 103-83 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday at FedExForum as forward Jeff Green scored a team-high 21 points off the bench.
Memphis (27-20) has won eight of its last 10 games and is seven games above .500 for the first time this season. The Grizzlies won their fifth straight at home and are 18-7 at home for the season.
Backup point guard Mario Chalmers led the Grizzlies’ assist brigade (28) with 10 and also chipped in seven points. Starting point guard Mike Conley handed out nine assists with five points.
Milwaukee’s 15 turnovers led to 18 Memphis points and though Bucks center Greg Monroe scored a team-high 21 points, he also made a team-high five turnovers.
The Bucks (20-28) dropped to 7-21 on the road. Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (seven points, seven rebounds) didn’t stick around for the end of this defeat as he was hit with a technical foul at the6:30 mark in the fourth quarter and ejected.
Ahead by nine at halftime, Memphis opened the third quarter with an 11-2 run to go up 61-43 following a 3-pointer from guard Courtney Lee (13 points) at the 8:58 mark. Lee scored 11 points in the quarter and the Grizzlies carried a 76-62 advantage into the fourth.
Memphis controlled the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 25 points.
The Grizzlies shot 47.5 percent from the floor and were 10 for 28 from long range. The Bucks shot 36.7 percent from the field and were 1 for 16 from beyond the arc.
Center Mac Gasol finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals for Memphis and forward Matt Barnes scored 13 points and knocked down 4 of 8 threes. Tony Allen had 13 points and seven rebounds.
Milwaukee guard Khris Middleton scored 15 points with six assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Memphis led 50-41 at halftime as Gasol scored 13 points, and Jeff Green 11. Monroe led all first-half scoring with 17 points.
NOTES: Milwaukee G O.J. Mayo missed his seventh straight game with a sore left hamstring. F John Henson was out Thursday with a sore lower back. … Memphis F Jeff Green scored a season-high 30 points off the bench in an overtime victory over Orlando on Monday night and is averaging 16.7 points on 48.7 percent shooting from the field in his last six games. … The Bucks entered Thursday’s game with the third-worst record (20-27) in the Eastern Conference, but coach Jason Kidd said they are treating the final seven games before the All-Star break as an opportunity to climb back in the playoff race. “We feel we still have a shot,” Kidd said. … With many Grizzlies banged up and two players on D-League assignments, coach Dave Joerger changed up practice. “This is the most shooting we’ve done in a season, a lot of shooting competitions,” Joerger said.