It was just the second quarter when Griz veteran Tony Massenburg grew tired of fending off Karl Malone's elbows.
Massenburg told referee Bennett Salvatore he would only take so much.

"I'm not a punching bag," said Massenburg, who eventually received a technical foul along with Malone after a brief shoving match.

As it turned out Tuesday night, that minor skirmish with 2:12 left in the first half was all the fight the Utah Jazz could muster.

The Grizzlies, though, kept pushing. They tagged the Jazz with crisp offensive execution and pummeled the visitors with staunch defense.

Keeping Malone in check turned out to be a footnote in the Grizzlies' 86-79 victory before an announced crowd of 12,216 in The Pyramid.

In snapping a three-game losing streak, the Grizzlies held the Jazz to season-low 30-percent shooting and finally controlled a game without losing a double-digit lead.

"They cracked us early," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "It looked like we wanted to play in tuxedos, and they were the ones who wanted to work."