Clippers overcome Mavs Gasol, Conley send Grizzlies past Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS – Marc Gasol scored 20 points and Mike Conley added 13 points and 10 assists in his return home Thursday night, helping the Memphis Grizzlies rally for a 112-103 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

The Grizzlies (1-1) had seven players score in double figures and closed it out by outscoring Indiana 18-7 over the final 3:49.

George Hill scored 20 points for the Pacers while Paul George and C.J. Miles had 18 each. It wasn’t quite enough for the Pacers to avoid their first 0-2 start in six years.

The Pacers appeared to take command when they pulled out to a 75-66 lead with 1:44 left in the third quarter.

But the Grizzlies answered with 11 straight points to retake the lead early in the fourth. After George’s free throws gave the Pacers a 96-94 lead with 4:03 left, Gasol tied it with a short runner that sparked the final scoring flurry.

It was a topsy-turvy game most of the night.

Memphis took advantage of Indiana’s early shooting woes by building a 25-10 lead, then watched the Pacers methodically come back.

The Pacers got within 34-30 early in the second quarter, finally took their first lead at 43-42 and then looked as if they might pull away after starting the second half on a 9-1 run to take 58-51 lead.

Memphis quickly turned the tables on the new-look Pacers.

After C.J. Miles made consecutive 3-pointers to help push the Pacers’ lead to nine, the Grizzlies scored the last seven points of the third quarter and the first four of the fourth and never trailed the rest of the game.

In Los Angeles, Blake Griffin had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Jamal Crawford added 15 points in the Clippers’ 104-88 victory over Dallas in Los Angeles’ home opener.

DeAndre Jordan had six points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots in his first game against the Mavericks since his summer misadventures in Dallas. Jordan tentatively agreed to join the Mavs as a free agent before the Clippers’ top brass and players descended on his Houston home and persuaded him to return to Los Angeles, infuriating owner Mark Cuban and Dallas fans.

Austin Rivers scored 14 points for the Clippers, who pulled away in the second half with a strong bench performance.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 16 points for the Mavericks, who played without injured starting guards Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews.

In New York, Jeff Teague scored 23 points, Al Horford added 21 and Atlanta beat New York, 112-101, for its first victory of the season.

Looking more like the team that won 60 games last season and had the best record in the Eastern Conference than the one that was beaten badly at home in its opener, the Hawks shot 51 percent from the field.

Kyle Korver had 15 points and Paul Millsap added 11 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta.

Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and was 10 for 27 from the field for New York, while Robin Lopez finished with 18 points.

Atlanta lost 106-94 to Detroit on Tuesday, while the Knicks were coming off a 122-97 season-opening victory at Milwaukee on Wednesday.