Memphis’ Gasol, Battier batter Sonics

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Shane Battier isn’t the kind of player who thinks about taking control of a game. He just plays hard and hopes things happen.

“I’m not good enough to say: ‘I’m going to take over the game.’ There are few guys who are,” the Memphis Grizzlies forward said. “But most basketball players start making a few jumpers and a couple of moves, and you start feeling good confidence-wise. You play a lot looser and the game just comes a lot more natural to you.”

Battier took that approach Tuesday night as he and Pau Gasol each scored 20 points and sparked a third-quarter rally to lead the Grizzlies to a 94-69 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.

Battier scored 13 points in the third quarter as Memphis built its lead to 68-51. Battier outscored the Sonics by himself until the final minute of the period. Meanwhile, Gasol had 10 in the quarter which Memphis closed with a 10-2 run.

“We moved the ball well, and we were making the right plays on offense and also playing pretty good defense,” Gasol said of the rally. “The best thing is that we kept Seattle, one of the best and top offensive teams in the league, under 70 points. That’s pretty impressive.”

The win was the third straight for Memphis, and gave the Grizzlies (3-1) their second-best start in franchise history. They were 4-1 to open the 2000-01 season. It also snapped a six-game losing streak to the Sonics, who had won five straight in Memphis.

Mike Miller added 14 points for the Grizzlies and Eddie Jones had 10.

Ray Allen led the Sonics (1-2) with 15 points, less than half of his 31.5 average through Seattle’s first two games. Rashard Lewis had 13 points, all in the first half, and 10 rebounds. He missed all four of his shots after the break, and he and Allen were on the bench for good with about 7 minutes left. In the second half, Seattle starters accounted for only nine points.

Seattle, which got no closer than 17 points in the final quarter, shot 33 percent overall and had 21 turnovers.

“Well, you saw the game, we stunk,” Seattle coach Bob Weiss said. “Twenty-three-of-70 shooting. Twenty-one turnovers again. We were trying to force things, and it’s been a trend with us.”

Weiss said his team was not getting enough help for Lewis and Allen, and he acknowledged the game got away from the Sonics after halftime. Allen agreed, saying Seattle seemed to abandon the team concept.

“We just started getting too individual,” Allen said. “We’re playing individual basketball and not helping each other score. On the other end (the Grizzlies) were doing that.”

Memphis shot 8 of 17 on 3-pointers.

Grizzlies 94, SuperSonics 69

Percentages: FG .329, FT .692. 3-Point Goals: 5-24, .208 (Radmanovic 3-6, Cleaves 1-2, Allen 1-6, Evans 0-1, Murray 0-1, Lewis 0-2, Wilkins 0-2, Ridnour 0-4). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 21 (32 PTS). Blocked Shots: 1 (Lewis). Turnovers: 19 (Lewis 5, Petro 3, Radmanovic 2, Potapenko 2, Allen 2, Murray, Collison, Ridnour, Cleaves, Wilkins). Steals: 8 (Allen 3, Wilkins 3, Lewis, Fortson). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .493, FT .522. 3-Point Goals: 8-17, .471 (E.Jones 2-4, Miller 2-4, Jackson 2-4, Battier 1-1, D.Jones 1-3, Stoudamire 0-1). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 14 (10 PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Gasol 4, Wright). Turnovers: 14 (Stoudamire 3, Gasol 2, Miller 2, D.Jones 2, E.Jones, Battier, Wright, Burks, Roberts). Steals: 9 (D.Jones 2, Jackson 2, E.Jones, Battier, Gasol, Roberts, Stoudamire). Technical Fouls: None.

A—14,319 (18,119). T—2:10.