Germany’s Chris Kaman sat out for the Los Angeles Clippers with a back problem and Spain’s Marc Gasol took full advantage as Memphis won for the 19th time and went above the .500 on Tuesday.
Gasol had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Grizz, who trailed by 18 points but came back.
Down 12 points in the third quarter, the game was halted for more than a half hour as players and the fans had to evacuate the FedExForum when a broken water line in the fire sprinkler system led to the arena’s alarm system going off.
The 7ft 1in Gasol, who turns 24 on January 29, was an uncertainty before the game with a shoulder contusion but started.
Gasol is averaging 14.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per game in his second NBA season.
He will be in the Spain squad when they go after a second straight FIBA World Championship title in September in Turkey.
Kaman, meanwhile, tweaked his back in the warm-ups before the game.
The Germany international is averaging 20.4 points and 9.4 rebounds for the Clippers (17-19).
Here is a look at what some of the other players who may be headed to the FIBA World Championship did on Tuesday.
Argentina
- Luis Scola – The Houston power forward scored 18 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in the Rockets’ 102-94 defeat at Charlotte.
- Manu Ginobili – The shooting guard scored nine points and dished out six assists in San Antonio’s 105-85 blowout of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ivory Coast
- Pape-Philippe Amagou – The Roanne guard had 12 points and two assists but the French team lost 94-87 at KK Zagreb in the EuroChallenge.
Team USA
- Dwight Howard – The Orlando Magic center scored 30 points and hauled in 16 rebounds in his team’s 109-88 demolition of Sacramento in the NBA.
- Kobe Bryant – The Lakers guard had 16 points but sat out the fourth quarter in the defeat to San Antonio with back spasms.
Serbia
- Stefan Markovic – The Hemofarm guard had eight points and seven assists but his club lost in the Eurocup at home to BC Triumph, 79-78.
- Milan Macvan – The Hemofarm forward scored 11 points and grabbed four boards in Hemofarm’s defeat.
- Ivan Paunic – In his second game with Aris in the Eurocup, Paunic had seven points, three rebounds and three assists in the club’s 89-79 victory at Hapoel Jerusalem.
- Luka Bogdanovic – The DKV Joventut man scored 16 points and pulled down five rebounds in a 78-75 win at UNICS Kazan in the Eurocup.
- Uros Tripkovic – The Serbian made three of six shots from long range and had 11 points in DKV’s triumph.
Croatia
- Marko Popovic – The UNICS Kazan guard scored 14 points and had two assists but turned the ball over six times in his team’s home defeat to DKV Joventut in the Eurocup.
France
- Mickael Pietrus – The Magic small forward had 18 points and 10 boards in the win over Sacramento in the NBA.
- Tony Parker – The Spurs guard poured in 22 points and handed out six assists in the win over the Lakers.
- Alain Koffi – The French center finished with 11 points and seven rebounds but turned the ball over five times in DKV’s win at UNICS.
Spain
- Alex Mumbru – The Spain gunslinger scored a season-high 26 points to lead Bilbao to an 89-88 win at Spartak St Petersburg. Bilbao improved to 6-0 in the Eurocup and ended Spartak’s bid to progress to the next round.
- Pau Gasol – The Lakers big man missed his fifth consecutive game with a hamstring injury.
