Memphis, who were trailing by 13 points at the end of three quarters, outscored Dallas 29-12 in the fourth and final quarter to earn a hard-fought home win.
Jaren Jackson Jr. played in foul trouble the entire game but led Memphis (44-27) with 28 points, while Santi Aldama scored 22 points and a grabbed career-high 14 boards to earn his fourth double-double of the season. Desmond Bane added 17 points and six rebounds.
Memphis’ Tyus Jones had 16 points and six assists starting in place of Ja Morant (conditioning), who is expected to return to action Wednesday against the Houston Rockets.
Kyrie Irving led Dallas (36-36) with a team-high 28 points. He also added four assists and two blocks.
Christian Wood (20 points, nine rebounds, six assists) and Jaden Hardy (20 points, four assists) picked up the slack off the bench with Luka Doncic (thigh) out for a fifth consecutive game.
Starters Josh Green (12 points, three rebounds) and Reggie Bullock (seven points, three rebounds) also played well for the Mavericks.
Memphis held a 30-28 lead at the end of the first quarter behind 11 points from Jackson and six points from Bane. Dwight Powell picked up three quick fouls in the opening frame for Dallas, who was led by 11 points from Irving.
A flagrant foul by Jackson on Wood sparked a 6-0 Mavericks run and gave the visitors a 45-39 lead midway through the second quarter. A technical foul by Jackson and a 3-pointer by Reggie Bullock extended Dallas’ lead to 49-41 with 5:32 to play until halftime.
Dallas held on to lead 60-57 at the break behind 20 from Irving. Jackson entered halftime with three fouls and a team-high 17 points for Memphis.
Jackson picked up his fourth and fifth fouls within a span of three seconds and he left the game with 7:10 left in the third. With Jackson out, the Mavericks outscored the Grizzlies 22-16 the remainder of the quarter and took a 96-83 lead into the final frame.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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