HOUSTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The Memphis Grizzlies held on to take an 82-78 victory over the Houston Rockets in an NBA game that was tied several times but largely dominated by the Grizzlies Friday night.
The Grizzlies led by double digits most of the first half, but saw their lead completely diminish by the early moments of the fourth quarter.
Memphis had a chance to push the lead to four with less than 10 seconds left, but Tony Allen missed two free throws, giving Houston one more shot.
The Memphis never allowed the Rockets to take the lead and held on for the win.
James Harden had 30 points, but committed eight turnovers and missed his last four shots, all of which occurred in the final 1:06 and could have given the Rockets a tie or the lead. Jeremy Lin added 17 points.
Marc Gasol had 15 points, and Zach Randolph added 15 points for the Grizzlies.
Both teams had secured a spot in the playoffs.
The win helped the Grizzlies move within a half game of the third-place Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference standings.
The Rockets, currently sitting in seventh place in the West, remain one-half game behind Golden State for the sixth place after the Warriors lost to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.