enver in the third quarter and stayed in post-season contention with a 100-92 victory over th

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Early in the second half the Memphis Grizzlies found a way to change the momentum and ended up with a key win. Memphis turned up the defensive intensity, overtook Denver in the third quarter and stayed in post-season contention with a 100-92 victory over the Nuggets on Friday night. "I thought we did a much better job coming out of the locker room in the third quarter," said Memphis centre Marc Gasol, who led the Grizzlies with 24 points. "We were more us, especially defensively. Offensively things may go well; may not. But defensively, we feed off that. We need that energy defensively." Mike Conley was a key factor in Memphis second-half burst, scoring 19 of his 21 points after the break. Memphis, which trailed 47-43 at halftime, outscored the Nuggets 57-45 in the final two quarters and forced 13 Denver turnovers in the second half. "I was happy with the way we responded after they came back at us at the end of the first half," Conley said, acknowledging he was angry with the way Memphis closed the second quarter. "We came back in the third quarter and guys were focused and guys had a lot of energy." Zach Randolph added 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Tayshaun Prince scored 12 before leaving with an ankle injury in the first half and Courtney Lee scored 10 for Memphis, which won its 11th straight home game. Randy Foye led the Nuggets, while Kenneth Faried finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for Denver, which lost its fifth in the past six. Ty Lawson, who didnt start for disciplinary reasons, scored 16 points, while Timofey Mozgov had 13 points. Aaron Brooks scored 11. But Lawson also left the arena in a boot, suffering left ankle sprain with about 3 minutes left. "That is just, unfortunately, been the story of our season," Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said of the Lawson injury. Memphis entered the game a half-game behind Dallas for the seventh playoff spot and tied with the Phoenix Suns for eighth. Dallas and Phoenix played later Friday night. Memphis, which was coming off a five-game road trip, struggled at times, and the Nuggets took advantage by erasing a double-digit first-half lead. Neither team shot well for the game, Memphis connected on 39 per cent of its shots, compared to 36 per cent for the Nuggets. There were some ugly individual stats as Darrell Arthur was 1 of 9 for the Nuggets, including 1 of 5 from outside the arc. Conley scored 21 points, but was 5 of 14 and missed six of seven from 3-point range. There were 53 fouls in the game to slow the pace. "It was kind of an ugly game," Shaw said. Memphis took the lead midway through the third quarter and built the advantage to 14 on a 3-pointer from Conley topped off by a free throw when Shaw was given a technical with 4:43 left. "(The Grizzlies) are scrapping," Shaw said. "They want to solidify a spot in the playoffs. Obviously, were just trying to play hard and doing what we can to get the win." Denver dominated the second quarter after Memphis took an early 12-point lead. The Nuggets guards had little problem getting to the rim as Lawson, who didnt start after missing the team breakfast Friday, scored 15 points in the half leading Denver. Memphis was 5 of 6 to start the game, but was 11 of 42 the rest of the half for a 33 per cent shooting performance. Denver was only slightly better, hitting 36 per cent. "We had a good start to the game," Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. "We were crisp, executed well and got stops. ... We were lax after that (in the second quarter)." But the Grizzlies opened the second half with much more energy and, led by 10 points from Conley in the third, were able to retake the lead, carrying a 69-65 lead into the fourth. "In the second half, we had three stops in a row seven times," Joerger said. "That was very positive for us. We came out with a good defensive mindset. I know outside of the second quarter, I was very impressed with our performance defensively." NOTES: The game was the first at home for Memphis since March 24. The Grizzlies went 2-3 on a road trip since then. ... The Nuggets are 3-27 this season when they dont reach 100. Miami Dolphins Christian Wilkins Jersey . -- When the Los Angeles Kings are on top of their formidable defensive game, they revel in the silence they can create in a frustrated road arena. Wholesale Miami Dolphins Jerseys .D. Martinezs ninth-inning sacrifice fly scored Torii Hunter with the winning run and the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Sunday. http://www.cheapdolphins.com/ . The Pope greeted Klose at his general audience Wednesday and the pair had a long chat. Klose is German like the pope, although he was born in Poland. 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Authentic Miami Dolphins Jerseys .Y. - Geno Smith still thinks of himself as the New York Jets starting quarterback.BATA, Equatorial Guinea - Host Equatorial Guinea is into the quarterfinals at the African Cup of Nations, and so is one of the big outsiders in Republic of Congo.Equatorial Guinea eliminated Gabon with a second-half surge to take its place in the knockout stages of its home tournament on Sunday as Javier Balboa and Iban Edu scored in a 2-0 win in the last round of games in Group A.The victory caused wild celebrations by the home fans at Bata Stadium, who roared, stamped their feet down on the metal floors of the stadium, and even caused riot police to be scrambled around the field at the very end just in case the wild celebrations got out of hand.Its magnificent, Equatorial Guineas Argentine coach Esteban Becker said. He put it down to the passion of his young team.Republic of Congos progress — as winner of the group — was more surprising as the team had not even qualified for the African championship in 15 years, and last won a game at the African Cup in 1974.Now, the team has won twice in four days.Republic of Congo followed up its 1-0 win over Gabon with a 2-1 victory over Burkina Faso in Ebebiyin to seal a spot in the quarters.Fabrice NGuessi grabbed the Congolesse winner with a header three minutes from the end, and a minute after Burkina Faso had equalized, to further improve French coach Claude Le Roys outstanding record at the Cup of Nations.dddddddddddd Le Roy is coaching in a record eighth African Cup.In Bata, the host had to ride its luck as Gabon strikers Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Frederic Bulot had gilt-edged chances in the first half but were denied by outstanding Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper Felipe Ovono.The game changed in the second when Javier Balboa won and converted a penalty for Equatorial Guinea in the 55th minute, emptying the bench as the entire squad raced out to celebrate with him. As Gabon pushed desperately for an equalizer that would have sent it through instead, it left holes at the back. Iban Edu pounced with four minutes to go to make sure of the victory, and the place in the quarters.While the country celebrated, a bitterly disappointed Gabon coach Jorge Costa and captain Aubameyang lamented referee Doue Noumandiezs decision to give the penalty that led to the first goal.There you go. 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