Grizzlies Close Strongly Again

The Memphis Grizzlies know how to protect a late lead.

The Grizzlies ran away from Dallas in the final period Tuesday night, outscoring the Mavericks, 28-18, en route to a 109-92 victory at Memphis, Tenn. Memphis has won 21 of 22 games when leading after three quarters.

“We expect to win now. We have that little extra sense of urgency, and we need to play with that energy,” Memphis forward James Posey said. “We know if we are playing our style of basketball, we can beat anybody.”

Posey had 19 points and Stromile Swift added 18 as the Grizzlies won their 20th home game -- and six of their last seven -- to tie the franchise record for home victories set last season. The Grizzlies moved nine games over .500 for the first time in franchise history and gave Hubie Brown his 400th win as an NBA coach.

Memphis opened the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run and extended its lead to 99-80 with six minutes left when Posey tipped in his own miss.

“When we have five or six guys in double figures, we play our best,” Brown said. “[Dallas] got a lot of rebounds, but we got a lot of passes that found open guys. We had 25 assists in the game, and that was huge.”

Memphis’ bench outscored the Mavericks’ reserves, 53-29.

“This is one of the best teams in the league so we can’t really hang our heads,” Steve Nash said of the Grizzlies. “We’ve got to realize we didn’t play well enough to win. You’ve got to play pretty darn well to win here.”

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 24 points.

New Orleans 89, Indiana 75 -- Jamal Mashburn had 20 points and Baron Davis added 19 as the Hornets outrebounded the lackadaisical Pacers, 56-38, at Indianapolis.

The Pacers tied a season low in shooting 33% from the floor, including four for 22 from three-point range. Pacer forward Jermaine O’Neal had 17 points.

Indiana forward Ron Artest was benched for the start of the game for missing a practice on Monday night because he did not return in time from the All-Star game. Artest made one of 10 shots but was 11 for 16 on free throws to finish with 13 points.

New York 92, Detroit 88 -- Stephon Marbury made a clutch three-pointer with 40 seconds left at New York and the Knicks -- revamped again following the trade of Keith Van Horn and Michael Doleac -- sent the Pistons to their sixth consecutive loss.

Marbury finished with 28 points, nine assists and five steals, Penny Hardaway scored 17 and the Knicks outscored the Pistons, 15-6, in the final 2:21 to end a two-game losing streak.

Chauncey Billups had 26 points for the Pistons.

Tim Thomas, acquired from the Bucks on Sunday, played nine minutes and sat out the second half. He had two points, four rebounds and two turnovers.

Minnesota 110, Phoenix 95 -- Kevin Garnett had 32 points and 14 rebounds for his league-leading 47th double-double at Minneapolis.

Sam Cassell had 22 points and 10 assists and Latrell Sprewell added 21 points for Minnesota, which has won three straight and improved to 23 games over .500 (38-15) for the first time in team history.

Minnesota guard Troy Hudson played for the first time since reaggravating his sprained right ankle Jan. 28 at Golden State and scored five points. He had missed eight straight games and 44 of the team’s first 52.

Amare Stoudemire scored 29 points for Phoenix, which has lost six straight games for the third time this season.

Milwaukee 127, Orlando 104 -- Michael Redd scored 27 points and the Bucks overcame Tracy McGrady’s 41-point effort at Milwaukee in their highest-scoring game of the season.

Orlando lost its eighth straight game.

Van Horn, acquired by the Bucks on Sunday from the Knicks, didn’t play, instead heading back to New York to take care of family matters. He will also miss tonight’s game at Detroit.

Sacramento 127, Boston 111 -- Peja Stojakovic scored 28 points and Vlade Divac had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists at Sacramento as the Kings set a franchise record with 16 three-pointers while improving the NBA’s best record to 38-13 with their eighth victory in their last nine games.

The Kings also set a record with their 27th straight home victory against Eastern Conference teams. No East team has won in Sacramento since Indiana on March 3, 2002 -- the longest stretch of home wins over one conference since the NBA formed two conferences in 1970.

Ricky Davis scored 32 points for the Celtics, who lost their third in a row and haven’t won in Sacramento since Feb. 16, 1996.

Denver 106, Philadelphia 85 -- Carmelo Anthony scored nine of his 28 points in the pivotal third quarter at Denver to lead the Nuggets to their third straight victory.

Allen Iverson, who missed Monday’s practice and was held out of the starting lineup by interim Coach Chris Ford, led the 76ers with 27 points and a season-high 14 assists. He checked in with 4:39 left in the first quarter.

Houston 107, Washington 81 -- Jim Jackson had 17 points and the Rockets used a 16-2 run over the first and second quarters to beat the Wizards for the ninth time in their last 10 trips to Houston. Etan Thomas had 13 points for the Wizards.

Miami 97, Utah 85 -- Rookie Dwayne Wade scored 31 points and the Heat used a 16-0 second-quarter to run to win at Miami.

Andrei Kirilenko, coming off his first All-Star game appearance, had a career-high 31 points for Utah, which could never get closer than three points in the second half.

Chicago 75, Toronto 73 -- Jamal Crawford had 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists at Chicago.

The Raptors’ Vince Carter had 21 points but could not get off a shot in the final seconds against Eddie Robinson.