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Saturday, Nov. 6 10:00pm ET
Grizzlies grab first win over Nuggets | |||||
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- The injury-riddled Vancouver Grizzlies needed a helping hand Saturday night, and Mike Bibby provided it. The second-year point guard had a franchise-record 16 assists to go with 17 points as the previously winless Grizzlies rolled to a 109-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets. "It might be one of the best games I've ever had," said Bibby, whose previous best was 12 assists. "I just just came out and played. I didn't care about anything else. I just played hard." Bibby broke Greg Anthony's 3-year-old record of 15 assists, when he set up Shareef Abdur-Rahim's 3-pointer in the final minute of the game. "Bibby played real special tonight," said Abdur-Rahim, who led the Grizzlies with 27 points and 10 rebounds. "That's the way we need him to play. He sucked it up against a real good point guard. And it's like I tell him all the time, it starts with him. "Me and (Bryant Reeves) can be the captains, but out there on the floor everything is initiated through him. We go as he goes." Reeves scored 22 points and Othella Harrington added 20, marking only the second time the Grizzlies had three players score 20 or more points in a game. The Grizzlies, minus Felipe Lopez (sprained left shoulder) and Doug West (toe surgery), were forced to go with a 10-player lineup With the win, the Grizzlies ended a nine-game losing streak, going back to the end of last season. Ron Mercer was 11-of-17 from the field, including 5-for-8 from 3-point range, and scored 31 points for the Nuggets, who are 0-2 on the road this year and have managed just four wins in their last 64 road games going back to the start of the 1997-98 season. Mercer was forced to leave the game with 2:31 remaining when he twisted an ankle while guarding Michael Dickerson. Raef LaFrentz added 19 points for Denver. Nuggets coach Dan Issel said Mercer was icing his ankle, which will be re-examined when the team returns home to prepare Monday's home game against Atlanta. Issel was critical of his team's performance, especially in the third quarter when the Nuggets went four minutes without a basket and were outscored 35-18. "I think we played too soft," Issel said. "In the third quarter they came out and pushed us all over the floor. ... We've got to be tougher than that." Issel said it was unfair to discuss the Nuggets' dismal road record, saying this was a new season and a new team. However, he added, "To win on the road takes toughness. The crowd's against you, the home team's the one playing with emotion. You have to match that emotion." Antonio McDyess put the reasons for the loss another way. "I wouldn't say we were soft, we just didn't play as hard as we should have," said McDyess, who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Tied 53-53 at halftime, the Grizzlies took control with a 14-2 run to build a 77-64 lead with 4:47 left in the third quarter. Abdur-Rahim sparked the run, putting the Grizzlies ahead for good with an easy putback. Ahead 88-71 after three quarters, the Grizzlies eventually took a 23-point lead in the fourth quarter. The game was played before 12,159 fans, the smallest announced crowd ever to attend a Grizzlies regular season home game. Game notesIn four games against Vancouver last season, McDyess averaged 28.3 points and 11.5 rebounds. Saturday, he finished with 17 points and eight boards. ... Bibby's seven assists in the opening quarter, matched a franchise record for most in a quarter, set four previous times. ... McDyess completed a curious four-point play in the first half. Fouled while making a basket, McDyess took an extra foul shot when Cherokee Parks was issued a technical for complaining to the officials. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Denver Clubhouse Vancouver Clubhouse RECAPS Indiana 115 Boston 108
Vancouver 109
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