Grizzlies beat Mavs again in another meeting without All-Stars

Desmond Bain scored 23 points as the Memphis Grizzlies won their second straight game against Dallas with all three All-Star Games, defeating the Mavericks 104-88 on Monday night.

Luka Doncic and Kairi Irving were pulled out to Dallas with injuries, while Ja Morant was sidelined by the Grizzlies due to off-court problems.

Doncic is dealing with a left tibia deformity requiring an MRI that showed no significant damage. Irving has a pain in his right leg.

As all three were out just as they were in Memphis’ 112-108 win on Saturday to start home and home opener David Roddy once again played a big role for the Grizzlies.

The 23rd pick scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shots over two nights after scoring 17 of his career-high 24 points in the fourth quarter as Memphis closed an 11-point gap.

The rematch saw no need for a late draw after the Grizzlies opened the second half 12-0 and beat Dallas 36-21 in the third quarter with the Mavs batting 31%.

Rookie Jayden Hardy scored 28 points for the Mavericks, which fell below .500 for the first time since December. Josh Green was the only other Dallas player in double figures with 23.

The Mavs, who paired Irving with Doncic, forfeiting two starting players and a first-round pick from the Brooklyn blockbuster, are currently in the play-in tournament with 13 games left a year after reaching the Western Conference Finals.

The Grizzlies, comfortably in the top six in the West, won their second game in a row after losing the first three games of Morant’s sabbatical.

Morant left the team after he recently posted a video of the 23-year-old two-time All-Star showing a gun at a strip club in Denver.

Both teams also lacked a key frontcourt player, with Memphis’ Stephen Adams out with a right knee sprain and Dallas’ Christian Wood scratching before the game with right leg pain.

TIP-INS

Grizzlies: Dillon Brooks had 19 points and Santi Aldama had 10 points and nine rebounds.

Mavericks: Hardy’s first quarter with 16 points was the most by an NBA rookie this season, surpassing Jeremy Sochan’s 15 points for San Antonio in a 127-106 loss to Washington in January. … Tim Hardaway Jr., who had 23 points when Doncic and Irving were eliminated in the first meeting, scored just five points on 2-of-10 shooting.

NEXT

Grizzlies: Wednesday in Miami. The Grizzlies have won five of their last six games against the Heat.

Mavericks: The three-game tour kicks off Wednesday in San Antonio. The Mavs have won six consecutive victories over the Spurs.