DALLAS (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Luka Doncic added 21 points as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 121-96 on Friday night.
It was Porzingis’ fifth straight game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The Mavericks quickly built on a 12-point halftime lead, dominated the third quarter 34-16 and improved to 14 games over .500 for the first time this season. Seventh in the Western Conference, they remain a half-game behind Oklahoma City.
Josh Jackson led the Grizzlies, eighth in the West, with 16 points off the bench. Dillon Brooks added 15, two after the first quarter, and Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points as Memphis failed to move over .500 for the first time since Feb. 20. The Grizzlies came off the first back-to-back 39-point road wins in NBA history.
With Dallas leading 33-28 after one quarter, Memphis scored the first nine points of the second period to take a 37-33 lead. But with the Grizzlies ahead 39-37 with 8:26 left in the half, the Mavericks went on a 19-2 run to pull ahead with 4:16 to go in the period. Porzingis closed the run with nine straight points on two 3-pointers and three free throws after being fouled behind the arc.
The Mavericks played without two starters, guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (illness) and forward Dorian Finney-Smith (injured right hip). Then, starting guard Seth Curry was lost with an injured left ankle after scoring 15 points in the first half, shooting 7 of 9 from the floor.
TIP-INS
The road team won in this series for the first time in six games . . Finney-Smith was the last Dallas player to have appeared in every game this season, including 60 starts. He played in every game for the Mavericks in two of his three previous seasons. … Courtney Lee made his sixth start this season for Dallas, replacing Finney-Smith, and had a season-high 13 points.
UP NEXT
The Grizzlies host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday having gone 6-3 on the back ends of back-to-backs this season.
The Mavericks will finish a three-game homestand on Sunday against the Indiana Pacers.