The Houston Rockets were hot from behind the arc in the second half, helping them to a victory over the hometown team 107-91 on Tuesday night at FedExForum.
The Grizzlies fell to 21-19 with the loss, snapping a six-game home winning streak. The Rockets improved to 20-19, winning their fourth game in a row.
Houston hit 10 of its 17 three-point attempts [58.8 percent] in the third and fourth quarters, while holding Memphis to 3-of-8 [37.5 percent] to turn a 7-point halftime lead into a 16-point win.
James Harden led all scorers with 25 points and added five rebounds and dished out five assists. Terrence Jones contributed 20 points, while Dwight Howard notched 17 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, marking his 17th double-double of the season. Trevor Ariza and Marcus Thornton tallied 10 and 16 points, respectively.
Six Grizzlies scored in double figures, led by Marc Gasol who recorded 20 points and grabbed five rebounds. Tony Allen followed suit with 17 points and notched a team-high seven rebounds, while Courtney Lee added 16 points on the night. Zach Randolph, Vince Carter and Mario Chalmers each registered 10 points, with Chalmers leading the team with nine assists.
Memphis started the game with a strong performance. The Grizzlies were 10-of-18 from the field [55.6 percent] while holding the Rockets to just 7-of-16 [43.8 percent] from field goal range. At the end of the first frame, Memphis led Houston 24-22.
The roles reversed in the second quarter as the Rockets outscored the Grizzlies 29-20 going into the half with a seven-point advantage, 51-44.
In the third frame, Memphis climbed back to tie the game at 69 points with 49 seconds left in the quarter. However, a three-point jumper from Corey Brewer with 16 seconds left on the clock edged the Rockets to a 72-69 advantage into the fourth period.
During the final quarter, the Grizzlies tied the game two separate times, however with 5:57 remaining in the game, the Rockets went on an 8-0 run for the final lead change of the night. The back-and-forth contest saw 36 turnovers, 15 ties and 11 lead changes over the course of the game.
The Grizzlies return to action on Thursday, Jan 14 when they host the Detroit Pistons at FedExForum. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and fans can tune into FOX Sports Southeast or 92.9 FM ESPN to catch the game.
Box Score | Discuss the game on the Fan Boards.
— Coach Dave Joerger
— Tony Allen
— Zach Randolph
The Grizzlies’ homestand continues on Thursday against Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons at 7PM.
Find Tickets
