MADRID, Spain (AP) -Pau Gasol scored 10 points in his return to Madrid as the Memphis Grizzlies rolled over Spanish team Estudiantes 98-73 Thursday in an NBA preseason game.
Mike Conley led Memphis with 17 points. Gasol finished 4-of-6 from the field, with eight rebounds and three blocks in just under 20 minutes.
Spaniards Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro played at the Palacio de Deportes for the first time since Spain fell to Russia 60-59 in the European championship final last month, when Gasol’s jumper lipped out as time expired.
Emilio Jasen led Estudiantes with 17 points, while center Larry Lewis – one of 38 Americans playing in the Spanish league – had 14.
Later Thursday, Spanish players Jose Calderon and Jorge Garbajosa were to play with the Toronto Raptors against Spanish champions Real Madrid to wrap up the NBA’s preseason tour of Europe.
Estudiantes, which finished ninth in the 18-team league last season, shot 33 percent from the floor, a figure that improved after the pace dropped off going into the fourth with Memphis holding an 80-52 lead.
The Grizzlies, coming off a 102-99 loss at Unicaja Malaga Tuesday night, proved too much for Estudiantes in the post, outrebounding the Spaniards 49-39 with 10 blocks.
Point guard Damon Stoudamire pushed Memphis out ahead quickly on the fast break to quiet the capacity crowd of 15,000.
Memphis center Darko Milicic – jeered with every touch of the ball after insulting the officiating staff during the Euros last month – rolled in a layup to push the Grizzlies out 24-9.
The crowd had something to cheer about at 3:58 as Navarro made his first appearance. The former Barcelona guard finishing with six points and four assists.
Carlos Suarez ended a near five minute scoring drought for Estudiantes – which shot 5-of-29 from the floor in the first – before a Navarro layup put the Grizzlies ahead 28-11 with just over a minute to go in the first.
Jasen’s 3-pointer at 3:28 of the second cut the lead under 20 as Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni rotated his lineup, but Milicic’s nine points sent the Grizzlies into the locker room ahead 52-33. Milicic, who signed from the Orlando Magic in the offseason, finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Gasol hit a layup to open the third and the Grizzlies – an NBA-worse 22-60 last season – built their lead back to 30 points.
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