Memphis Grizzlies Team Report - November 11

(Basketball News) - Pau Gasol scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Los Angeles Lakers, 105-95, on Monday at The Pyramid.

James Posey and Lorenzen Wright netted 15 points apiece for Memphis, which halted a three-game skid and defeated the Lakers for only the second time in its last 19 meetings with Los Angeles.

Jake Tsakalidis contributed 12 points and nine boards and Shane Battier also had 12 points for the Grizzlies. Jason Williams collected 10 points, eight assists and five steals in the win.

Memphis opened the third quarter with a 15-4 burst, capped by Posey’s three- point play, to grab a 76-58 advantage.

The Grizzlies’ lead reached as many as 19 points twice in the period, the last time at 85-66 on Earl Watson’s jumper with 31 seconds left in the stanza.

Luke Walton then drained a three-pointer at the buzzer for Los Angeles to make it a 16-point game after 36 minutes.

The Lakers continued to chip away in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to seven at 91-84 on a pair of Kobe Bryant free throws with 5 1/2 minutes remaining.

Memphis then received a dunk from Tsakalidis and a basket from Gasol to extend the margin to 11 with 4:45 left.

Los Angeles was able to get within eight, but Battier answered with a rare four-point play to seal it. Battier drilled a three-pointer from the corner and was fouled by Bryant. He then sank the free throw to give the Grizzlies a commanding 101-89 lead with just 1:58 remaining.

The Grizzlies are off until Wednesday when they visit the Orlando Magic.