In meeting of NBA’s best, Mike Conley leads Grizzlies in rout of Rockets

Conley's 19 points and defensive play led Memphis in a 119-93 battering of Houston, who came into the game with the joint best record in the NBA with the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies have the NBA's best record at 10-1. Mark Humphrey / AP

Mike Conley scored 19 points and the Memphis Grizzlies (10-1) easily defeated the Houston Rockets (9-2) 119-93 on Monday night in a matchup of the teams with the NBA’s best records.

Whatever showdown was expected from the two 9-1 teams and among the best defensive squads in the league never materialised as Memphis took a 16-point lead in the first quarter and extended it in each of the remaining periods, until it reached 36 points in the fourth frame.

Seven players finished in double figures for Memphis who won their fourth straight overall. Courtney Lee finished with 15 points, while Zach Randolph added 14. Quincy Pondexter, Beno Udrih and Jon Leuer had 13 points each.

Trevor Ariza led the Rockets with 16 points, while Dwight Howard had 15 points and nine rebounds. Patrick Beverly managed 10 points. James Harden had six points, going 1-of-8 from the field.

The Rockets, who entered the game allowing a league-low 89 points a game, had given up that many by the end of the third quarter.

Houston, who were coming off a 69-65 win Sunday night at Oklahoma City, were a step off all night. Through three quarters, Harden, having to deal with Tony Allen, was misfiring and appeared frustrated. Turnovers plagued the Rockets from the start and their shooting hovered around 40 per cent as Memphis took the lead to as many as 31 in the third quarter.

Houston coach Kevin McHale considered it pointless after three with Memphis leading 97-66 and sat his key players for the fourth.

The Rockets finished the game shooting 44 per cent and committing 21 turnovers, leading to 31 Memphis points.

Memphis dominated the first half on both ends of the floor. The Grizzlies shot 58 per cent for the half, including 5-of-11 from outside the arc.

Defensively, Memphis forced the Rockets into 10 turnovers in the first quarter en route to 15 for the half. Add to that Houston shooting 41 per cent, and Memphis held a 65-42 lead at half-time in what was the Grizzlies’ best overall performance for a half this season.

Ariza led the Rockets with 12 points.

Memphis lost a bit of focus to start the second half, committing four turnovers in the first 3 minutes. Despite the miscues, Houston couldn’t capitalise and get the deficit to a manageable point.

Once Memphis withstood that run, the Rockets had little left to push again.

Memphis finished the game shooting 54 per cent against a Houston team that entered the game allowing only 40.3 per cent, best in the league.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Nuggets 106 (3-7), Cavaliers 97 (5-4)

Ty Lawson scored 24 points and Arron Afflalo added 23 as the struggling Denver Nuggets ended Cleveland’s four-game winning streak with a 106-97 victory over the Cavaliers on Monday.

Denver took the lead for good early in the third quarter and were up by as many as 14 midway through the fourth.

LeBron James, who missed the morning shootaround because of a cold, led Cleveland with 22 points.

The Nuggets limped into the game having lost seven of eight and were coming off Sunday’s defeat at New York in which they made one field goal in the second quarter.

Denver looked like a different team Monday, placing five players in double figures. Leading 90-84, the Nuggets scored eight straight points and went ahead 98-84 on Lawson’s layup with 6:01 to play.

Cleveland, who hit their first 11 three-pointers Saturday against Atlanta, failed to reach 100 points for the first time in six games.

Timofey Mozgov had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Denver.

Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters each scored 20 points for the Cavaliers.

Spurs 100 (6-4), 76ers 75 (0-10)

Matt Bonner had 18 points and San Antonio’s Big Three got some rest as the Spurs handed Philadelphia their 10th straight loss to open the season.

Tim Duncan had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard had five points and 11 rebounds in limited action. Cory Joseph added 14 points for the defending NBA champions, who never trailed.

Duncan played 16 minutes and Tony Parker 18. Both sat out the entire fourth quarter after playing just 5 minutes in the third.

San Antonio won their 10th straight at home over Philadelphia and seventh overall against the 76ers.

Michael Carter-Williams had 16 points and four assists for the Sixers. Last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year was playing in just his third game after missing the entire pre-season and the first seven games of the season with a right shoulder injury.

Philadelphia are losing by an average of 15.5 points this season.

Mavericks 107 (8-3), Hornets 80 (4-7)

Monta Ellis scored 18 points and Chandler Parsons had 17 as Dallas defeated Charlotte for their fourth straight victory.

Dirk Nowitzki had 13 points to become the fourth player in NBA history to eclipse 27,000 with one franchise, joining a prestigious group that includes current Hornets owner Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Kobe Bryant.

The Mavericks came in leading the NBA in scoring, averaging more than 109 points. Charlotte offered little resistance as Dallas routinely scored on uncontested alley-oops, dunks, layups and three-pointers.

Tyson Chandler was 7-of-7 from the field for 14 points, and Jameer Nelson had 11 points and eight assists for Dallas.

Gerald Henderson had 18 points for Charlotte. Al Jefferson was limited to six on 3-of-12 shooting.

Bulls 105 (8-3), Clippers 89 (5-4)

Jimmy Butler led six players in double figures with 22 points as Chicago beat Los Angeles to improve to 6-0 on the road for the first time since 1996/97.

Taj Gibson had 20 points starting in place of the injured Pau Gasol, Mike Dunleavy Jr added 19 points and Joakim Noah had 11 points and 16 rebounds. The Bulls remained the NBA’s only undefeated road team while opening a season-long, seven-game trip without the injured Derrick Rose.

Jamal Crawford led the Clippers with 24 points off the bench, and Blake Griffin added 19 points and 10 rebounds. DeAndre Jordan had 10 points and 17 rebounds. Griffin was just 5-of-10 from the free throw line, where the Clippers were 10-of-22.

Butler was coming off a career-high 32-points in a loss to Indiana. He made 9-of-10 free throws, had eight assists and six rebounds.

Trail Blazers 102 (8-3), Pelicans 93 (5-4)

Damian Lillard scored 24 points, including a tiebreaking three-pointer with 1:14 left as Portland rallied past New Orleans.

LaMarcus Aldridge, back after missing one game with an illness, had 22 points and nine rebounds to help the Trail Blazers win their fifth straight.

Anthony Davis had 31 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans, who couldn’t hold a 16-point, third-quarter lead.

Wesley Matthews hit a three to tie it at 91, and Robin Lopez’s layup gave Portland their first lead of the second half with 2:23 left. Lillard’s three-pointer put the Blazers in front 96-93, and they made free throws the rest of the way.

Heat 95 (6-5), Nets 83 (4-6)

Mario Chalmers scored 22 points, and Chris Bosh ended his shooting slump and added 15 points and nine rebounds as Miami snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Brooklyn.

With Dwyane Wade out for a third straight game due to a strained left hamstring, Chalmers remained in the starting line-up for the second consecutive night and keyed the finishing spurt for the Heat. He converted a three-point play, added another free throw and then set up Bosh for a three-pointer that turned a four-point lead into a 91-80 advantage with 1:23 left.

Bosh finished 5-for-11 after shooting 12-for-49 during the losing streak, including 2-for-17 in a loss to Milwaukee on Sunday.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points for the Nets, who were held to their lowest point total of the season and lost their fourth straight. Deron Williams added 14 but shot 4-of-13.

Suns 118 (6-5), Celtics 114 (3-6)

Markieff Morris scored a career-high 30 points and Eric Bledsoe had a key steal and breakaway dunk in the closing minute to lift Phoenix over Boston.

Goran Dragic had 22 points, Alex Len scored 19 with seven rebounds and Bledsoe finished with 15 points and seven assists for the Suns, who lost their previous two games.

Jeff Green led Boston with 28 points, and Jared Sullinger had 18 points with eight rebounds. Rajon Rondo fell one assist shy of a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Tyler Zeller added 19 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics, who lost their third straight.

Bledsoe stole Avery Bradley’s crosscourt pass and went in alone for a dunk, pushing the Suns ahead 116-114 with 29.5 seconds to play.

Magic 107 (5-7), Pistons 93 (3-8)

Tobias Harris scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as Orlando pulled away late to beat Detroit.

Nikola Vucevic finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic, who had all five starters in double figures.

The Pistons, playing their fifth game in seven nights, were led by Caron Butler, who had 20 points, and Brandon Jennings, who scored 18. But their frontcourt trio of Josh Smith, Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe combined for only 25 points on 10-of-28 shooting.

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