Rudy Gay scored 20 points, Hakim Warrick and O.J. Mayo added 18 points apiece and the Memphis Grizzlies won their second straight at home, 109-97 over the Houston Rockets on Monday night.
Memphis made its first six 3-pointers to build an early lead and shot 51 percent overall. Gay, who did not start after arriving late for the shootaround, made eight of 14 shots and Mayo was 7-of-13.
Kyle Lowry had 11 points and five assists, while Mike Conley and Marc Gasol each had 10 points. Gasol and Warrick had eight rebounds apiece for Memphis.
Luis Scola had 16 points and 15 rebounds, and Rafer Alston had 16 points and eight assists for the injury depleted Rockets. Von Wafer added 15 points, and Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks finished with 14 apiece. Carl Landry had 12 points.
Memphis, which saw a 22-point first-half lead almost evaporate in the second half, rebuilt the advantage to 15 in the early minutes of the fourth period as Greg Buckner scored 8 points and Warrick added a couple of more baskets. Memphis eventually would extend the lead to 16 with just over two minutes left.
The Rockets were playing short-handed as Ron Artest sat out the game with a sore right foot, Tracy McGrady was not dressed because of lingering problems with a sore left knee and Brent Barry was sidelined with a right leg injury. The Rockets had only 10 players in uniform, including Steve Francis, who hasn't played all year.
That contributed to Memphis' reserves outscoring the Rockets' bench 58-28.
The Grizzlies again tweaked their starting lineup, reinserting Gasol with Darko Milicic on the front line in hopes of containing the Rockets Scola and Yao. It didn't last long as Milicic picked up two fouls before two minutes were gone in the game.
Quinton Ross started in Gay's spot and made the first basket of the game, a 3-pointer.
Memphis jumped to a 10-0 lead as the Rockets missed their first six shots. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies shot 61 percent in the period, including all five 3-pointers. The Grizzlies led by as many as 15 points in the first.
Memphis led by as many as 22, one short of its largest lead of the season. The Rockets, however, would close the half with a 21-8 rally to trail 56-47.
Houston shot 8-for-10 to open the second half and pulled within a basket midway through the third.
But Memphis was able to create a bit of room and carried an 83-75 lead into the final period, then extended it to double-digits early in the fourth.
Notes:@ The firing of Minnesota Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman raised questions about Memphis coach Marc Iavaroni's future. Iavaroni said before Monday night's game that he was only focusing on the game against the Rockets and not concerned about his job security. ... Wafer, the fourth-year guard from Florida State, started in place of Artest, his first start of the season. The Grizzlies largest lead of the season was Nov. 18 vs. Sacramento.
