Grizzlies 88, Raptors 82
TORONTO -- Zach Randolph scored 17 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Toronto Raptors 88-82 on Wednesday before a crowd of 19,800 at Air Canada Centre.
It was the first meeting between the teams since a Jan. 30 trade that sent Rudy Gay from Memphis (35-18) to Toronto (22-33). Each team is 6-3 since the trade.
Gay, who has been a spark for the Raptors, was held to 13 points and nine rebounds as the Raptors had a five-game winning streak snapped. Memphis has won five in a row.
Mike Conley had 17 points, including a big 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter for Memphis. Tony Allen added 12 points with eight rebounds and Tayshaun Prince scored 11 points.
Alan Anderson came off the bench to score 19 points for Toronto, 15 in the fourth quarter. Amir Johnson scored 16 points and Kyle Lowry had 12, including a four-point play with 20.6 seconds to play, hitting a free throw after being fouled making a 3-pointer to bring the Raptors to within three points.
Gay, held to three points in the first half, opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to reduce the Grizzlies' lead to 66-60. After the Grizzlies went ahead by 10, Anderson hit a pair of 3-pointers to cut the lead to four. Then with 6:33 left, Anderson made a four-point play, converting the free throw after making a 3-pointer to reduce the Memphis lead to two. Johnson tied the game 77-77 with a layup with 4:09 to play. But Randolph hit three of four free throws in two trips to the line and Conley hit a 3-pointer and Memphis led by six with 1:57 to play.
The Grizzlies led by 11 after a sloppy first half and were ahead by 13 after Allen made two free throws with 6:37 to play in the third quarter. But the Raptors cut the lead to six points when Johnson made a running slam dunk with 3:34 left in the quarter. The Grizzlies got the lead back up to 11 before Anderson hit a pair of free throws to cut the Memphis lead to 66-57 after three quarters.
Gay did not score until he hit a 3-pointer with 5:14 left in the first half to cut the Grizzlies' lead to nine points. The Grizzlies shot 34.9 percent from the field in the first half but led 43-32 over the Raptors, who shot 25.7 percent.
Neither team scored in the first three minutes and eight seconds of the game until Johnson made a running dunk for Toronto. The quarter ended 19-14 in favor of Memphis with Gay going 0-for-4 from the field with no points.
NOTES: Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said he would like to see the team acquire more experience and a third point guard to help Lowry and John Lucas if a move is made before the trade deadline. But he said before the game, "I'm happy with the guys we have." ... Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins said forward Ed Davis, who was obtained as part of the deal that sent Gay to Toronto, has taken a while to get going with his new team. "He was a little slow getting acclimated," Hollins said before the game, "but in the two practices before the All-Star Game and the practice after it he was good and he played well (Tuesday) night (in a 105-91 win at Detroit). Davis scored 14 points, his best since joining the Grizzlies, and had a season-best four blocked shots in 21 minutes against the Pistons. ... The Grizzlies are home to the Orlando Magic on Friday while the Raptors host the New York Knicks.
