Gasol, Barnes lead Grizzlies past Pacers 96-84
Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) passes between Memphis Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes (22) and center Marc Gasol (33) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015, in Memphis, Tenn. AP
MEMPHIS, Tennessee—Marc Gasol had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Matt Barnes finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Indiana Pacers 96-84 on Saturday night.
Mike Conley added 20 points and eight assists as the Grizzlies snapped a two-game skid. Mario Chalmers had 12 points for Memphis and Jeff Green added 11.
Paul George led the Pacers with 29 points, despite going 8 of 22 from the field. Monta Ellis scored 13 points and Rodney Stuckey had 11 points. Jordan Hill finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
The loss snapped Indiana’s three-game winning streak.
Memphis shot 45 percent, compared to 39 percent for the Pacers. Neither team shot well from outside the arc, Memphis converting 5 of 19, while the Pacers were 5 of 28 for 18 percent – a season-low for Indiana on 3-point percentage.
Memphis pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring Indiana 26-18 as the Pacers converted only 5 of 15 shots in the final quarter.
The Grizzlies, who at times has struggled in the third quarter, extended their halftime lead to double digits this time.
The advantage reached 12 points as Memphis connected on 50 percent of its shots through the bulk of the quarter.
But Indiana put together a 14-4 rally to pull to 66-64 before Memphis managed to carry a 70-66 lead into the final period.
Memphis would build the lead back to double digits near the midway point of the fourth. The Pacers converted five straight free throws – four of them by George – to move closer at 88-80.
Conley and Gasol combined for the game’s next six points, and the Memphis lead had reached its largest lead of the night at 94-80 with just under 3 minutes left.
Memphis, led by as many as nine in the first half, before taking a 44-43 lead into the break behind 11 points from Gasol and 10 by Barnes.
George hit the Pacers’ first three shots and scored 14 in the half. Stuckey came off the bench for 10 points.
