Grizzlies rout Nets in first matchup with ex-coach Hollins

Brooklyn Nets center Jerome Jordan (9) defends Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) in their game at the Barclays Center, on Jan. 14, 2015, in New York.
Brooklyn Nets center Jerome Jordan (9) defends Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) in their game at the Barclays Center, on Jan. 14, 2015, in New York.

NEW YORK -- Zach Randolph had 20 points and 14 rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the slumping Brooklyn Nets 103-92 on Wednesday night in their first matchup against former coach Lionel Hollins.

Hollins' new team dropped its seventh straight since it was 16-16 after winning its first game of 2015.

Marc Gasol and Courtney Lee added 18 points apiece for the Grizzlies, who began working newly acquired Jeff Green into one of the Western Conference's top teams. Green finished with 10 points in 26 minutes off the bench in his first game since his arrival from Boston.

Mason Plumlee had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Nets, playing without the suspended Kevin Garnett and still without the injured Deron Williams.

That left Hollins without nearly enough experience against a veteran team that enjoyed its best success under him but might be on its way to even greater heights under Dave Joerger, his former assistant.

Hollins went 214-201 with the Grizzlies franchise and his last three teams made the playoffs, but he was let go after a 56-26 finish and a trip to the Western Conference finals in 2012-13 when ownership was looking for a change.

The Grizzlies are much more versatile offensively under Joerger than Hollins' rugged defensive clubs, and they got another scoring option when they acquired Green from Boston in a three-team deal with New Orleans. It wasn't approved by the league until Monday, leaving Green just one workout with Memphis, so Joerger wanted to ease him in.

Averaging a career-best 17.6 points, Green was 3 of 11, missing all four 3-point attempts.

Garnett was suspended by the NBA for head-butting Houston's Dwight Howard on Monday, and Williams is still unsure when he will return from fractured rib cartilage. The Nets still are in playoff position in the Eastern Conference, but that may not last much longer if they can't end this skid soon.

"Maybe we've maxed out, I don't know," Hollins said before the game, "but that's what we're striving for."

Lee scored 15 points in the first quarter, going 6 for 7 and making all three 3-pointers as Memphis led 32-23. The Grizzlies finished the half with a 7-0 run to go ahead 51-45.

A 31-20 third quarter put away the game, as the Grizzlies led 82-65 going to the fourth.

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