MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) Memphis’ Marc Gasol had 19 points and 12 rebounds to guide the Grizzlies to a 96-84 win over Indiana on Saturday, preventing the Pacers from closing in on the NBA Central Division lead.
The Pacers dropped two games behind pacesetter Cleveland, but retained second place in the division because Chicago also lost, beaten convincingly at New York.
Also Saturday, Houston built a huge early lead and coasted to victory against the disappointing Los Angeles Clippers.
Memphis’ Matt Barnes finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who moved within a game of Dallas for second place in the Southwest Division.
Paul George led the Pacers with 29 points, despite going 8 of 22 from the field.
Houston bounced out to a 26 points lead in the first half and was untroubled in beating the Clippers 107-97.
Dwight Howard had 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets, who were still up by 19 points with 7-1/2 minutes left, when the starters for both teams were benched, with the result inevitable.
New York notched its fourth straight win by beating a weary Chicago 107-91
Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points and Arron Afflalo added 18 for New York, which got back to a .500 winning percentage at 14-14 after winning just 17 games last season.
Joakim Noah had 21 points for the Bulls in his first start of the season.
Washington’s John Wall had 27 points and 12 assists and Garrett Temple scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Wizards past Charlotte 109-101.
Oklahoma City extended its run of wins at home to eight straight by routing the struggling Los Angeles Lakers 118-78.
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