Grizzlies 95, Knicks 87
NEW YORK -- The Memphis Grizzlies halted a five-game losing streak, defeating the New York Knicks, 95-87, on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
Power forward Zach Randolph topped Memphis (11-15) with 25 points and 15 rebounds.
The Grizzlies' previous victory came on Dec. 9 against Orlando.
Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks (8-18) in scoring for the 26th time in as many games, scoring 30 points.
The Knicks' homes woes continued. New York is 4-9 at Madison Square Garden after going 50-10 at home last season.
The Knicks were on the wrong end of a weekend matinee loss for the third time season. San Antonio dropped New York, 120-89, on Nov. 10, and Boston won, 114-73, on Dec. 8.
Center Tyson Chandler returned to the Knicks for his second game since Nov. 5, when he sustained a non-displaced fracture of his right fibula, scoring seven points, but found it difficult keeping up with Randolph.
Despite with having the 7-foot-1 Chandler back on the floor, the Knicks were out-rebounded, 56-29.
The 6-9, 260-pound Randolph was particularly effective in getting to the rim, and he converted 7-of-10 free throws.
New York never led in the second half and Memphis built an 86-64 lead with 6:20 to play in the game.
The Knicks whittled it down to 87-78 with 4:00 left, but baskets by guard Tony Allen and Randolph increased the Memphis lead to 91-78 with 3:00 remaining.
The Knicks used a 9-0 run move to close to within 91-87 with 25 seconds to go, but Jerryd Bayless sank two free throws to give Memphis a 93-87 edge with 22 seconds remaining.
The Knicks didn't have an answer for Randolph in the third quarter. He led the Grizzlies with 11 points and seven rebounds as Memphis increased its lead to 72-61.
Randolph was bullish in the low post during the second quarter. The 12-year veteran from Michigan State muscled his way for seven points to help the Grizzlies grab a 50-40 halftime advantage.
New York sank only 6-of-18 shots from the floor in the second quarter.
The Grizzlies controlled the boards in the first quarter and led, 25-22, after one. Memphis out-rebounded the Knicks, 14-6, in the quarter despite missing their big man, 7-1 Marc Gasol, who remains out because of a knee sprain.
Anthony scored 10 points in the quarter.
NOTES: The Knicks were without G Raymond Felton (strained hamstring), F Kenyon Martin (strained abdominal muscle), G Pablo Prigioni (fractured toe) and F Metta World Peace (sore knee). ... Beno Udrih made his third start at PG for the Knicks. ... Memphis PG Mike Conley ranks eighth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.27). ... C Marc Gasol missed his 13th straight game for the Grizzlies because of a left knee sprain. ...
