MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Grizzlies wanted to make sure they maintained the momentum they had before the NBA all-star break.
They did it by turning back the defending champion Mavericks on Wednesday night — albeit with Dallas getting little production from Dirk Nowitzki, who left with a balky back.
Marc Gasol had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Mike Conley added 20 points and 10 assists as Memphis won 96-85 in its first game after the break.
“We all told each other before the break that when we came back, it was a sprint to the finish line,” Conley said. “Each game is going to be big, especially starting off against the defending champions. I thought we showed we were hungry and wanted to get off to a good start.”
Rudy Gay added 18 points for Memphis, despite hitting just eight of his 19 shots. Dante Cunningham was 5-of-6 from the field and scored 10 points as the Grizzlies won their fifth straight home game and their eighth in the last 10 overall.
Jason Terry led the Mavericks with 18 points, while Rodrigue Beaubois scored 16. Brendan Haywood had 10 points for Dallas, which lost its third straight.
The Mavericks played most of the game without Nowitzki, who averages 19.7 points a game. Nowitzki scored only one point before leaving early in the second quarter with lower back tightness. He did not return.
“He felt something in warm-ups and tried to play,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “He clearly wasn’t moving the way he needed to be moving, so we pulled the plug.”
The Mavericks also were without Lamar Odom, who missed his third game for personal reasons, and Delonte West, who is out with a fractured right ring finger.
“I thought we had some good stretches,” Carlisle said. “Our second quarter was great. The start of the third was OK. Then, in the third, we had some opportunities to score, but couldn’t cash in. Then they made a run.”
