Gasol recorded 19 points, eight rebounds and a career-high seven assists as the Memphis Grizzlies ended a nine-game losing streak against the Denver Nuggets with a 97-86 victory.
Gasol added four blocks as the Grizzlies rejected a franchise-record 16 shots attempts.
"It would be an honor (to win the award), one of the greatest things in my whole life," said Gasol, a native of Spain. "I'll be the first international player to get this honor, so that would be great."
|
Stromile Swift scored a game-high 20 points, and grabbed a team-high nine boards. Joe Murphy NBAE/Getty Images |
"It felt good, we needed that win," said Memphis' Shane Battier. "We have not beaten them all year. It was a strong effort and we left them with little doubt."
Gasol scored eight of his points in the second quarter, when Memphis shot 72 percent (13-of-18) from the field en route to a 61-49 advantage.
Juwan Howard scored 18 points and Voshon Lenard added 12 for the Nuggets, who fell to 7-32 on the road.
Battier scored 13 points, Rodney Buford netted 11 and Jason Williams contributed 10 points for Memphis, which shot 47 percent (36-of-76) from the field and won its second straight home game.
George McCloud contributed 10 points and Donnell Harvey recorded eight and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who held a 48-40 edge on the glass and shot 41 percent (36-of-87).
"Our young guys played well and hard," said Denver coach Mike Evans.
"We didn't play as aggressive as we usually do," Evans said. "They had some confidence with Jason Williams on the floor. He really gave them a spark in the first half."
It was third third straight loss and fourth in a row on the road for Denver, which scored just 27 second-half points.
Trailing most of the way, the Nuggets pulled within 50-45 on Lenard's jumper with three minutes left in the first half. But the Grizzlies scored 11 of the final 15 points in the half to take command.