Grizzlies 85, Bulls 82 (OT)
CHICAGO -- Marc Gasol scored 19 points, teammate Zach Randolph grabbed 19 rebounds and the Memphis low-post tandem helped lead the Grizzlies to an 85-82 overtime victory over Chicago at the United Center.
Randolph and Gasol started the overtime with one putback basket each and the Bulls couldn't recover. Carlos Boozer came up short on a corner 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have tied the score.
After trailing by 17 points in the third quarter, the Bulls came all the way back to take a 70-69 lead with 3:20 remaining in the fourth quarter on a pair of free throws by Jimmy Butler. Making his first NBA start in place of the injured Luol Deng, Butler struggled for a while, but scored 12 points during the Bulls' 23-9 run to open the fourth.
Memphis came back with a pair of free throws by Rudy Gay and Bulls guard Nate Robinson answered with a long jumper to put Chicago back ahead 72-71 with 2:15 left.
Mike Conley was fouled on the next trip and hit his first free throw to tie the score, but the Grizzlies failed to convert a couple of great opportunities. Conley missed the second free throw and teammate Marc Gasol was fouled in a battle for the rebound. Gasol missed both of his free throws and Memphis got another offensive rebound, but this time Gay's 3-point shot was off-target.
On the other end, Robinson banked in a 3-pointer to give Chicago a 75-72 edge with 1:33 remaining. Gasol converted a pair of free throws to cut the lead to one, then after Robinson missed a pull-up jumper, Gasol's hook shot in the post sent Memphis ahead 76-75 with 34.1 seconds left.
Marco Belinelli split a pair free throws to tie the score with 31.4 seconds left. From there, Randolph and Robinson each missed a long jumper before the end of regulation.
Gay added 16 points for the Grizzlies and Conley had 13. Butler led the Bulls with 18 points, followed by Boozer with 17 and Robinson with 11.
Coming off a three-day road trip that featured overtime wins in both Toronto and Boston, the Bulls seemed to hit a wall midway through the second quarter. They led 30-25 with 6:39left in the first half. Over the next 14 minutes, Memphis went on a 29-7 run and opened a 17-point advantage after Gay's running jumper with 4:29 left in the third.
The Bulls played three straight overtime games in the regular season for the first time in team history.
NOTES: Chicago forward Luol Deng missed Saturday's game with a right hamstring strain. Deng originally suffered the injury on Wednesday in Toronto, but kept playing and decided he was good to go on Friday at Boston. He aggravated the hamstring, though, on a fast break and left that game with 1:55 left in the third quarter. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau offered no estimated on the length of Deng's absence. Jimmy Butler got his first career start in Deng's place. ... Zach Randolph was back in the Memphis starting lineup after missing Friday's home win over Sacramento with a strained lower back. ... Deng leads the NBA in minutes per game at 39.8, slightly ahead of Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant at 39.5. ... With Friday's win in Boston, the Bulls have won 39 straight games when they've scored at least 100 points. The longest such streak in NBA history is 41 by San Antonio from 2003-05, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
