Marc Gasol scored 19 points as the Memphis Grizzlies registered victory in a close game against the Chicago Bulls 85-82 on Saturday night.
Gasol and Zach Randolph scored seven points together out of the Grizzlies' nine points in the overtime.
'When we got into overtime we went to our horses, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. We played an inside-outside game. Our All-Star bigs took over the game,'' The Associated Press quoted Tony Allen as saying.
For the Grizzlies, Gasol chipped in eight rebounds and shot seven out of 10 attempts from the floor, Zach Randolph added 13 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, Rudy Gay had 16 points and eight rebounds, while Mike Conley finished with 13 points and nine assists.
For the Bulls, Jimmy Butler added 18 points and chipped in eight rebounds, while Carlos Boozer scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
''It was nerve-wrecking at first. I was rushing things. Joakim (Noah) and Booz told me to calm down and play like you are coming off the bench,'' Butler said.
Taj Gibson finished with 10 points and chipped in 12 rebounds against Memphis. The Bulls had only 3 for 10 in the overtime, but Gibson did not agree that fatigue was one of the main reasons for Chicago's defeat.
''You just have to play through it. We had a chance to win this game in the fourth. We had a couple of times to take advantage in overtime,'' Gibson said. ''We had some bad shots in the game and we couldn't rebound the ball late. Even though we won the rebounding battle, we gave up too many offensive rebounds.''
Chicago got off to a good start as they outscored the Grizzlies 22-18 in the first quarter. The second quarter came as a shock for the Bulls, as the Grizzlies devastated Chicago 26-12 to take a 10-point lead in the first half.
Memphis again outscored the Bulls 16-13 to extend their lead to 60-47.
The Grizzlies had a big 13-point lead in the beginning of the fourth quarter, but the Bulls fought bravely. Nate Robinson, who scored 11 points for the Bulls, hit a 3-pointer with 1:33 remaining in the game, to give Chicago a 75-72 lead. Gasol answered with four consecutive points and that put Memphis to the leading position with 75-74. Marco Belinelli's pair of free throws tied the game at 76 and the OT was forced.
''Offensive rebounding ultimately got us the win. We were battling and battling. They made some tough defensive plays and then we finished off the possession with an offensive rebound and they couldn't finish it off with a defensive rebound,'' said Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins.
In the OT the Grizzlies added first the six points with the help of Gasol's putback. Then Butler's layup saw Bulls cutting the lead to 83-80. Robinson had a layup with 6.6 seconds remaining, but the Grizzlies' Jerryd Bayless scored with 4.8 seconds to make it 85-82. Carlos Boozer missed a 3 in the last second and the Bulls lost the game by three points.
''In the overtime, we moved the ball better. We created some open shots and we kept attacking the paint,'' Gasol said. ''I think they got too many easy buckets and that's why they got back in the game. Too many of those.''
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