Memphis Grizzlies secure overtime victory over Phoenix Suns with the help of Zach Randolph – NBA Recap
The Memphis Grizzlies hosted the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night and it took more effort than expected for the Grizzlies to seal the deal with a 108-98 overtime victory over the travelling team. The Grizzlies were led from the front
by their big man Zach Randolph, who finished with a game high 38 points and 22 rebounds, and completely dominated the overtime period to ensure victory for his team. The Suns did a great job of staying with the Grizzlies throughout the game, but lost control
in the overtime period where they were outscored 14-4. Quincy Pondexter finished with 16 points off the bench for the Grizzlies, where as both Rudy g*y and Marc Gasol finished with 14 points each. Goran Dragic scored a team high 19 points and 7 assists for
the Suns, while Luis Scola added 16 points and 8 rebounds and Jared Dudley came off the bench to score 13 points.
The Suns got off to a great start in the game, outscoring the Grizzlies 25-18 in the first period. Both teams exploded on the offence to open the game and the scores were tied at 10 at the 8:00 mark. Phoenix later took the lead
through two free throws by Dudley, and a jump shot by Dragic later had them leading 23-18. Scola finished the period with a jumper and the Suns were ahead 25-18.
The Suns started the second period on a 5-0 run and extended their lead to 30-18, and a three pointer by Dudley later in the period kept them ahead 39-26. The Grizzlies, however, came back with a 14-2 run that had them trailing
43-47. The Suns led 52-45 at the halftime break.
A dunk by Gasol early in the third period had the Grizzlies trailing 55-59, but the Suns managed to stay ahead and five straight points by Dragic had them leading 66-61. Back to back field goals by Gasol had the Grizzlies within
two, and the Suns closed the period leading 72-68.
Phoenix extended their lead to 78-72 early in the final period through two free throws by P.J. Tucker, and a layup by Jermaine O’Neal had them ahead 82-74. However, Memphis came back into the game and a turnaround jumper by g*y
had them trailing 89-90. Mike Conley then made a free throw to give them a 92-91 lead, and a driving layup by g*y tied the game at 94 with time running out. O’Neal missed the game winning shot for the Suns and the game went into overtime.
Conley opened the overtime period with a three for the Grizzlies, and Randolph took over from there on to score the next six points and put his team up 103-96. The Grizzlies eventually won 108-98.
Memphis shot a meagre 4 of 19 from three point range compared with 6 of 14 for the Suns, but outscored them 50-32 in rebounds and had 9 more free throws than the travelling team.
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