Gasol leads Grizzlies past Bobcats

Mar 11, 2007, 4:00 GMT

Charlotte, NC - Pau Gasol poured in 31 points on a 13-of-20 shooting performance and pulled down 15 rebounds as Memphis toppled Charlotte, 115-107.

Hakim Warrick scored 18 points and Mike Miller added 17 for the Grizzlies, who snapped a six-game losing skid. Rudy Gay posted 16 points and grabbed 10 boards in the win.

Memphis finished a sizzling 56 percent shooting from the floor.

'It's not easy to be able to bounce back from the losing streak we had,' Gasol said, 'and then the loss last night was a very tough one. I think we've got to be proud of ourselves and try to carry it on.'

Gerald Wallace had 24 points with 17 rebounds for the Bobcats, who have dropped eight straight games. Raymond Felton also donated 24 points, while Derek Anderson chipped in 16.

Sean May returned from a 20-game absence and scored 13 points for Charlotte. May had been out since January 26 with a knee injury.

'In certain situations, you have to play almost perfect,' Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. 'There were some stretches where we turned the ball over while holding the lead.'

Memphis, down by four with 5:03 left in the first quarter, went on a 13-1 spurt for a 27-19 lead, but Charlotte posted 35 points in the second to cut its deficit to 57-56 at halftime.

Things stayed tight in the third with each team trading one and two-point leads, but with the game tied at 72, the Grizzlies netted six straight points -- ended with Tarance Kinsey's jumper -- and led 78-72 entering the fourth quarter.

Memphis then took its largest lead of the contest, 93-81, when Gasol buried a jumper with 7:45 to play. The Bobcats trailed the rest of the way and could only get as close as three, 101-98, after May drained two from the line late in the frame.

Moments later, Damon Stoudamire put the game away when he hit two free throws to extend the Grizzlies' edge to 109-100 with 1:04 left.

Charlotte shot 43.5 percent from the field.

Game Notes

Memphis improved to 5-28 on the road this season...The Bobcats dropped to 0-7 since Emeka Okafor has been out of the lineup with a strained left calf.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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