Gasol powers Memphis past Mavs

Damon Stoudamire added 22 points and eight assists for Memphis, which won its second straight contest and snapped a five-game skid against the Mavericks.

Bobby Jackson totaled 15 points, while Shane Battier and Hakim Warrick each scored 11 for the Grizzlies, who shot 55.4 percent from the field.

"The energy that Pau brought was very evident and his teammates played off of it," said Memphis head coach Mike Fratello. "When you see your guy, right from the start, get you going and is after it, making things happen, it brings everyone up to another level."

Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, who had their seven-game win streak broken. Josh Howard had 17 points, but left the game late in the final quarter with a sprained right ankle. X-rays taken at the arena were negative.

"Nobody will feel sorry for us," said Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson of Howard’s injury. "We just have to make some adjustments."

The Grizzlies used an 8-2 run to end the first quarter ahead 31-27. Memphis then used an 11-2 spurt to open the second quarter and led 42-29 following a Warrick jam with 8:44 left until halftime.

Dallas would trail 60-49 at the break and the Grizzlies led by double digits for virtually the entire third quarter and held an 87-75 advantage going into the fourth.

Memphis’ largest lead would reflect the final score, as the Grizzlies had a balanced effort and made 7-of-15 shots from beyond the arc.

Devin Harris had 14 points and Keith Van Horn added 10 points for Dallas.

Howard came down on Harris’ foot late in the fourth quarter to suffer his ankle injury.

Game Notes

Dallas shot 43.7 percent from the field and was 25-of-35 from the foul line...Gasol went 13-of-23 from the floor.