Rockets-Grizzlies Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Dec 30 2011 12:00AM

Following an awful season opener, Houston's Kevin Martin bounced back with a solid shooting performance to lead the Rockets to their first win.

He could be poised for another big night.

Martin, who has routinely frustrated Memphis, looks to help the Rockets continue their dominance in the series Friday night, while the Grizzlies try to avoid their worst start in seven years.

With little turnover from last season's roster, Martin is again expected to handle most of the scoring for Houston (1-1). He didn't come anywhere close to providing enough offense in Monday's opener, a 104-95 loss to Orlando.

Martin, who averaged a team-best 23.5 points last season, finished with four points on 1 of 10 shooting in 33 minutes. It was his fewest points when playing at least 30 minutes in his eight-year career.

He had no trouble finding his shooting touch Thursday, however, scoring 25 on 10 of 17 from the field in the Rockets' 105-85 win over previously unbeaten San Antonio.

"I felt like myself tonight," Martin said.

Kyle Lowry also felt like Thursday's performance was a more genuine demonstration of Martin's abilities.

"Everybody was all worried about him," said Lowry, who had 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. "He just missed shots in Orlando, that was it. Once he made shots, you see what he does."

With the Rockets in full control of their first game of a back-to-back-to-back stretch, coach Kevin McHale sat Martin with 4:48 to go in the third quarter, giving their star some extra rest.

This doesn't bode well for Memphis (0-2).

Against the Grizzlies last season, Martin averaged 31.3 points, his most against any Western Conference team. Dating back to his days with Sacramento since 2007-08, Martin's average of 31.9 points versus Memphis is the most by any player against the franchise.

With Martin leading the way, the Rockets went 3-1 against the Grizzlies last season. They've also won eight of the last nine meetings.

Memphis is expected to be without starting point guard Mike Conley on Friday after he aggravated a left ankle injury 24 seconds into Wednesday's 98-95 loss to Oklahoma City.

Rookie Jeremy Pargo filled in admirably, finishing with 15 points, seven assists and only one turnover, but the Grizzlies still fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2007. They haven't opened with three straight losses since an 0-4 start in 2004-05.

"He played with a lot of confidence, and that's great. We need that," Marc Gasol said of Pargo. "He is very aggressive. I think he's going to get better, too, as far as reading the game and knowing what's going on offensively and defensively."

Gasol had 16 points against the Thunder, while Zach Randolph had a team-high 24 points and Rudy Gay added 19. Each had 12 rebounds.

The Grizzlies outrebounded Oklahoma City 49-41, but had no luck from the perimeter. They misfired on 14 of 16 3-point attempts, and have an NBA-worst five 3s on 23 tries.

"We don't make 3s; we are not a good 3-point shooting team," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "We would love to have a couple of guys that could make 3s consistently, but we don't. That's just the way we are."

Connecting from long range could be difficult against Houston, which limited the Spurs to 2 of 17 from beyond the arc.

Grizzlies beat Rockets 113-93 for first win

Posted Dec 31 2011 12:08AM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Zach Randolph led the Memphis Grizzlies in scoring, though coach Lionel Hollins wanted to talk about something else.

"That's the best defense I've seen Zach play since he's been here," Hollins said after Randolph's 23 points led the Grizzlies to their first victory of the season, 113-93 over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.

Marc Gasol, who was 6 of 8 from the field, added 20, as the Grizzlies had six players in double figures. Randolph shot 11 of 14 and grabbed nine rebounds. Gasol and Rudy Gay, who finished with 10 points, each had eight boards as Memphis outrebounded the Rockets 42-33.

"Any time you have Randolph and Gasol go 17 of 22, you are going to have major issues," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said.

Randolph, who doesn't have a reputation as a strong defender, was part of a Grizzlies front line that held Houston starters Chase Budinger, Luis Scola and Jordan Hill to a total of 17 points, 11 from Budinger.

While Randolph didn't necessarily agree with Hollins' assessment of the defensive effort being his best, he did acknowledge trying to concentrate more on that end of the floor.

"That's what I'm trying to focus on, just better D, helping my guys out and being in the right position," Randolph said, adding, "Defense wins games. I know I can score with the best of them, and rebound with the best of them. (Working) on defense there's going to be a trickle-down effect, and everybody gets to playing defense and moving their feet and helping each other out."

Jeremy Pargo, starting in place of injured Memphis point guard Mike Conley, finished with 14 points, while Quincy Pondexter, picked up in a preseason trade with New Orleans, had 13.

Kevin Martin led the Rockets with 21 points, while Kyle Lowry had 15 points and eight assists. Rookie Chandler Parsons scored 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, all in the fourth quarter.

Memphis shot 56 percent and forced 20 Houston turnovers. The Grizzlies put away the game in the third quarter, outscoring the Rockets 31-16.

The victory was another step in Memphis establishing its identity as an inside force that carried the Grizzlies to the semifinals of last season's Western Conference playoffs.

"Defensively and offensively, we can get a lot better," Gasol said, "but this is more who we are. You saw some things last game (Wednesday's 98-95 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder) and today for longer periods, we played better."

Memphis opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run for a double-digit lead and eventually carried a 57-51 lead into the locker room, shooting 56 percent.

Randolph had 15 in the half, while Gasol scored 13. Martin had 19 points at the break for the Rockets and Lowry contributed 13, going a combined 10 of 16 from the field.

"We started off the game, and (Randolph) made some shot that we didn't want him to take, those long jump shots, and he just got on a roll," McHale said. "We couldn't stop him."

Memphis extended its lead by opening the second half with an 18-7 run, claiming a 75-58 margin just past the midway point of the third period.

The Grizzlies continued to pour on the offense, fueled by defense. The Rockets were 6 of 20 in the quarter, leading to Memphis outscoring Houston 31-16, giving the Grizzlies an 88-67 lead entering the fourth.

Houston made a small dent in the advantage as Parsons began hitting, scoring all his points in the fourth quarter. He was 5 of 9 from the field, connecting on all three of his shots outside the arc.

But even with a rally behind the rookie, the Rockets never really threatened.

"I think as guards, we should help our big men," Lowry said. "They had their hands full given those two (Randolph and Gasol) are really great players. They definitely wore down our defense."

Meanwhile, Memphis players are recognizing the importance of defense on their own end of the floor, and that an aggressive approach leads to more scoring opportunities.

And Randolph was the one getting the accolades for his defense.

"He understands for us to go to the next level, we need everybody to be engaged defensively," Gasol said.

NOTES: Hasheem Thabeet, drafted by the Grizzlies with the No. 2 overall pick in 2009, returned to the FedExForum for the first time since he was traded to the Rockets last February. He was on the inactive list for Friday's game. .McHale said fast-paced teams seem to be dominating the early games in the league, partially because of the short training camp. "Open court, free-flowing basketball is pretty instinctual to most of the NBA players," McHale said before the game. "You don't have to have as much structure in that as you do when you get sets. .A lot of things happen in those five-man sets with 14 seconds on the shot clock that are not good right now in the NBA." .Patrick Patterson, in his second season out of Kentucky, saw his first action of the season after being inactive for the first two games with a right ankle injury. .Grizzlies starting point guard Mike Conley did not dress for the game, still suffering from a left ankle injury suffered in the opening minutes of Memphis' Wednesday night loss to Oklahoma City.

Notebook: Grizzlies 113, Rockets 93

By L. Jason Smith, for NBA.com
Posted Friday December 30, 2011 11:40PM

THE FACTS: Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph scored 23 points and center Marc Gasol added 20 points and a career-high-tying five blocks to lift Memphis to a 113-93 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday at FedExForum. Six Grizzlies (1-2) finished in double figures, including point guard Jeremy Pargo, who had 14 points and five assists starting in place of injured point guard Mike Conley. Kevin Martin's 21 points led the Rockets (1-2), who were outscored 31-16 in the third quarter.

QUOTABLE: "That's the best defense I've seen Zach play since he's been here."
-- Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins on Randolph, who helped limit Rockets forward Luis Scola and reserve center Samuel Dalembert to a combined eight points and six rebounds. Memphis outscored the Rockets 56-36 in the paint.

THE STAT: Memphis eclipsed the 100-point mark for the first time this season Friday despite not making a single 3-pointer. The Grizzlies were 0-of-5 from 3-point range against Houston, lowering their percentage from long range this season to 17.9 (5-for-28). "We don't have any 3-point shooters," Hollins said. "It's just as simple as that."

TURNING POINT: The Grizzlies led 57-51 at halftime before blowing the game open in the third quarter on the perfect shooting of Gasol, Pargo and reserve guard Quincy Pondexter, who combined to go 8-for-8 from the field for 21 of Memphis' 31 third-quarter points. Houston, meanwhile, shot 30 percent (6-for-20) in the quarter, and trailed 88-67 after three.

QUOTABLE II: "Any time you have Randolph and Gasol go 17-of-22, you are going to have major issues."
-- Houston coach Kevin McHale on Memphis' inside duo.

HOT: Randolph finished 11-for-14 from the field, helping Memphis shoot 56.3 percent for the game. Gasol was highly efficient as well, making 6-for-8 shot attempts and 8-of-9 free throws.

NOT: Just one Rockets player (Chase Budinger) scored more than two points in a third quarter in which Houston made just six field goals. Budinger scored seven of the Rockets' 16 points in the quarter on 3-for-6 shooting. The rest of the team went 3-for-14.

NOTABLE: Houston was playing the second of three games in three days. The Rockets beat San Antonio at home Thursday 105-85, and will host Atlanta on Saturday. Prior to their loss to Memphis on Friday, Houston had won eight of their last nine against the Grizzlies. ... With Conley out (left ankle sprain), Memphis continued to get good production from its rookie point guards. With Pargo in early foul trouble, rookie Josh Selby, who played at Kansas, played 26 minutes, registering nine points and a team-high seven assists.

UP NEXT: For the Grizzlies, Sunday @ Chicago, Tuesday vs. Sacramento, Wednesday @Minnesota. For the Rockets, Saturday vs. Atlanta, Tuesday @ Lakers, Wednesday @ Clippers.

• Rockets: Adrien, Thabeet
• Grizzlies: Arthur, Henry

• Rockets: --
• Grizzlies: --

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
• Officials: #19 James Capers, #11 Derrick Collins, #60 James Williams
• Attendance: 16069
• Duration: 2:10