Memphis 98; Houston 95

HOUSTON, April 14 (UPI) -- Pau Gasol had 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists Sunday night and fellow rookie Shane Battier also scored 18 points as the Memphis Grizzlies posted a 98-95 win over the shorthanded Houston Rockets.

The Grizzlies (23-57) will finish at least 30 games under .500 for the seventh consecutive season, but the play of their rookie duo gives them reason to believe that streak will end soon.

Gasol is considered the favorite for Rookie of the Year and Battier may be the runnerup.

On Sunday, they combined to make 12-of-17 shots and led Memphis to its third win in four games.

The Rockets forged a 95-95 tie after rookie Tierre Brown made a breakaway layup with 24 seconds left. But another Memphis rookie, Will Solomon, was fouled by rookie Oscar Torres on a three-point attempt 20 seconds later and made 2-of-3 free throws to seal the deal.

Kevin Willis scored 18 points and rookie Terence Morris added 13 and 10 rebounds for Houston, which dressed only eight players.

Steve Francis sat out with a strained right shoulder and Cuttino Mobley had the flu, forcing the Rockets to go without their starting backcourt.

Houston finished its home schedule with an 18-23 record, its worst since going just 9-32 at home during the 1982-83 season.