Gay, Mayo Lead Grizzlies Past Mavericks
DALLAS (AP) - Rudy Gay scored 21 points, O.J. Mayo added 20, and each made key defensive plays in the final seconds to help the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Dallas Mavericks 91-90 on Friday night.
Marc Gasol added 10 points and 15 rebounds, and Dallas native Darrell Arthur contributed 14 points for Memphis, which split its first two games of the season.
Gasol missed the opener with a sprained left ankle, but went through pregame warmups and decided his ankle was sound enough for him to play.
Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points and Caron Butler finished with 18 for the Mavericks, also 1-1 after the first two games.
Nowitzki's 18-footer gave Dallas a 90-89 lead, but Mike Conley made one of two free throws with 47 seconds remaining to tie it.
Gasol was fouled by Tyson Chandler during a scrap for a rebound with 6.7 left, and he made one of two free throws to give Memphis the lead.
Gay knocked Jason Terry's pass attempt out of bounds with 1.9 seconds left, and Mayo stole Terry's inbounds pass as Memphis broke a nine-game road losing streak against the Mavericks. Terry also missed a 21-foot jumper with 31 seconds to play.
The Grizzlies were without starting forward Zach Randolph, who bruised his lower back in the first half of Wednesday night's loss to Atlanta.
Dallas used a 10-2 run over the final 1:22 of the third quarter, capped by Terry's layup with 0.2 left, to grab a 75-69 advantage.
The Mavericks built a 50-41 halftime lead behind Nowitzki's 14 points.
Dallas started 11 for 18 from the field and was ahead after one quarter, 29-24. But coach Rick Carlisle could not have been pleased with Memphis' seven offensive rebounds, 11 in the first half.
NOTES: Nowitzki had made 82 consecutive free throws during the regular season until he missed with 5:27 left in the second quarter. His previous regular-season miss was against Denver on March 29. The NBA record for consecutive free throws is 97 by Minnesota's Michael Williams from March 25-Nov. 9, 1993. Nowitzki missed two of four during one stretch in the second quarter. ... Dallas has gone 940 games with at least one successful 3-pointer. ... The Grizzlies are 11-49 against the Mavs.
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