Zach Randolph inspires the Grizzlies to a 96-85 victory over the Raptors
The Toronto Raptors just can’t bury their away games’ demons.
Reeling at 0-14 before coming into the Monday night showdown against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Raptors got another road thrashing as they failed to cope with the inspirational Zach Randolph.
Randolph scored 21 points, shooting 8-for-13 from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds as the Grizzlies overcame a 12-point first half deficit to turn the table on the Raptors by 96-85.
The ever-resurgent Rudy g*y roped in 18 points for Memphis which got its post Christmas campaign off to a flying start while Tony Allen finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds and a season-high six steals, part of 15 Memphis steals on the night.
The Raptors, however, had all the early honours, as they grasped the court of the FedEx Forum with an up-tempo style of play. Linas Kleiza, Jose Calderon and DeMar DeRozan set the early tempo for the away team as the trio combined to rattle off a 17-4 run
midway through the first quarter.
Staring at a 24-16 deficit at the culmination of the first 12 minutes, the Grizzlies finally came to life midway through the second quarter. With 9:14 left in the half, Darrell Arthur netted a tip shot that sparked a vicious 16-3 run, turning the match on
its head. Rudy g*y turned on the heat scoring 8 points in that spurt while Tony Allen capped the assault with a two furious pick and roll slam jams.
Although Toronto countered with a Kleiza 3-pointer followed by a slam dunk by the rookie Joey Dorsey to make the matters even with nearly two minutes left up till halftime, the momentum had clearly shifted in the favour of the Grizzlies.
With a cheering crowd behind their back the Grizzlies carved out the Raptors defence once again as they rang up a 15-5 spurt bridging the second and early part of the third quarter to race at a 56-46 advantage.
Stung hard by the Memphis onslaught, the Raptors tried their utmost to rally back. But every time they surged ahead, Grizzlies made crucial plays to peg them back. Never allowing them under a six point barrier the Grizzlies finally took the spite out of
the Raptors’ ranks as they reeled off an 8-point unanswered spurt to finish the third frame at 77-63.
Toronto though exerted some early pressure in the final quarter and a DeRozan jump back shot in the seventh minute pulled the Raptors within six. Grizzlies were, however, not willing to cough up against the Raptors as they nipped their resurgence with a
13-4 blow-out push down the stretch to run away with the match.
For the Raptors, Linas Kleiza led the charge with 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting while DeMar DeRozan finished with 18 points, Jose Calderon with 13 and Leandro Barbosa scored 11 as they lost their fifth game in the last six attempts.
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