Grizzlies-Timberwolves Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Jan 04 2012 10:15AM

The Minnesota Timberwolves lost their first three games by a combined nine points, leaving them confident it was only a matter of time before they got over the hump.

After two straight dominating victories, they may have found their groove.

Minnesota seeks its first three-game winning streak in nearly two years when it hosts the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

The Timberwolves (2-3) began the season with one of the league's toughest early schedules, but they've quickly discovered they can compete with the best the NBA has to offer.

They lost by four points to Oklahoma City on Dec. 26, fell at Milwaukee by three the next night in their only road game thus far, then lost 103-101 to Miami on a last-second bucket Dec. 30 to fall to 0-3.

Minnesota responded with a resounding 99-82 thumping of defending champion Dallas on Sunday before Monday's 106-96 victory over San Antonio.

Kevin Love had game highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Wolves, who are seeking to win three straight for the first time since a four-game run Jan. 29-Feb. 6, 2010. They conclude their season-high five-game homestand Friday versus Cleveland.

"You're not satisfied with last night, you build off of it," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "That's what I just told them. We've got two more home games on this homestand and we want to build off it."

All five starters scored in double figures in the win over the Spurs, as Michael Beasley and Luke Ridnour finished with 19 points apiece.

"There's going to be so many games this year, if you can try to find a way to get on a run at home, it's going to help you in the long run," Ridnour said. "To be able to win two in a row against Dallas and San Antonio, for this team, is huge."

Continuing that run may be difficult against Memphis, which has won seven of the last eight meetings in the series, including the last four by an average of 14.8 points.

Playing without Zach Randolph (bruised right knee), the Grizzlies (2-3) beat Sacramento 113-96 at home Tuesday, two nights after a 104-64 loss at Chicago coach Lionel Hollins called "embarrassing and humiliating."

Mike Conley returned after missing two games with an ankle injury to score 14 points while adding seven assists.

"We had to get it out of our mind," Conley said of the loss to the Bulls. "That was a terrible way to lose. We just didn't put forth the effort. But I think we did a good job of putting it in the back of our mind. New day, new game."

Rudy Gay scored a game-high 23 points and Sam Young scored 20 off the bench to help compensate for the absence of Randolph, who remains day to day after suffering his injury against the Bulls. O.J. Mayo, whom the Wolves traded in the deal that brought them Love after the 2008 draft, added 16 points.

This contest opens a three-game road trip for Memphis.

"It feels good to start (the upcoming) road trip like that," Gay said. "We started out with some momentum going into it."

Gay (shoulder) and Love (strained groin) each missed the most recent meeting between these teams April 2, when Memphis rolled to a 106-89 home victory.

Love has been held in check in eight career games against the Grizzlies, averaging 13.4 points and 9.4 rebounds - his lowest rebounding mark against any Western Conference opponent.

Gay leads Grizzlies to 90-86 win over Timberwolves

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
Posted Jan 04 2012 11:30PM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Memphis Grizzlies saw that Zach Randolph wasn't there to help them on Wednesday night, so they played harder.

The Minnesota Timberwolves saw that Zach Randolph wasn't there to beat up on them again, so they took it easy.

Rudy Gay had 19 points and eight rebounds, lifting the Grizzlies to a 90-86 victory over the Timberwolves in their first game since learning Randolph would be out for six to eight weeks.

O.J. Mayo scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and Mike Conley had 12 points and eight assists for Memphis, which is 2-1 since their burly leader injured his right knee.

"It's a great sign," Conley said. "It's very promising when you lose a guy like Zach and have guys step up."

Kevin Love had 27 points and 14 rebounds and Ricky Rubio added 12 points, 10 assists and four rebounds for the Timberwolves, who missed a chance for their first three-game winning streak since February 2010.

Love became the first player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 to record 20 points and 12 rebounds in his team's first six games.

But it wasn't enough against the hard-nosed Grizzlies, who scored 23 points off 17 turnovers and held the Wolves to 40 percent shooting to grind out the kind of victory that would make Randolph proud.

"Having the big fella out we definitely have to raise our focus level up a little bit more and execute better offensively," Mayo said. "Execute better defensively and try to give ourselves a chance to win every night."

Memphis used a 13-0 run to take a 76-68 lead with 3:37 to go, then held on as the Wolves tried to rally.

Love, Luke Ridnour and Rubio hit 3s, the last from the Spaniard with 16.5 seconds to play to make it 84-83. But Conley and Mayo knocked down free throws to hold them off.

The Timberwolves, who were feeling pretty good about themselves coming off of wins over Dallas and San Antonio, missed 11 free throws and trailed by 18-3 before the game was eight minutes old.

"They were way too lax in their approach," coach Rick Adelman said. "I told them, `You haven't won anything. Don't come out there thinking you just won the championship."'

Tony Allen added 20 points for Memphis.

The Grizzlies found out earlier Wednesday that they will be missing Randolph, their emotional leader and best player, because of a torn MCL in his right knee. It was Randolph who instilled the swagger and toughness in this young team last year, carrying them to within one win of the Western Conference finals.

Memphis traded a second-round pick to Philadelphia and sent guard Xavier Henry to New Orleans as part of a three-team trade that landed them Philly big man Marreese Speights, but most of the onus will be put on Gay and Marc Gasol to fill the void.

Memphis trailed 68-63 with 7:45 to play, but ripped off a 13-0 run to take control. Mayo, who was a Timberwolf for about an hour on draft night in 2008 before being traded for Love, hit a 3-pointer, a three-point play and a free throw in the spurt for a 76-68 lead.

"I think our mindset has been family," coach Lionel Hollins said. "When we go out there, one for all, all for one, playing together, playing for each other. We're starting to grow in that area already. We were starting to grow before Zach got hurt and we're starting to get that chemistry back that we had last year."

The Timberwolves were sluggish for most of the night, but Rubio energized them at the start of the fourth quarter with a nice flurry. He ended the third with a stutter-step score on a drive, then opened the fourth with a 28-foot lob pass to Derrick Williams.

Rubio added a jumper from just inside the 3-point line and drew a charge on the other end as the Wolves took a 64-61 lead.

"We had the victory," Rubio said, "and we let it go."

NOTES: The Timberwolves played without JJ Barea (strained right hamstring) for the third time in four games. Adelman said they wanted to play it cautious and make sure he was full healthy before they brought him back. ... Conley made his first start since spraining his ankle three games ago. ... Wolves F Anthony Tolliver took a nasty fall under the basket in the fourth but was able to finish it out. ... The Grizzlies outscored Minnesota 48-36 in the paint.

Notebook: Grizzlies 90, Timberwolves 86

By Jim Beilby, for NBA.com
Posted Wednesday January 4, 2012 11:42PM

THE FACTS: On the day the Memphis Grizzlies found that they would be without Zach Randolph for 6-8 weeks, they found a way to get their first road win of the season, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 90-86 on Wednesday night.

While the Grizzlies continued their dominance in the paint (outscoring Minnesota 48-36), it was their defense that made the difference. They held a Minnesota team that had made 57 percent against San Antonio on Monday night to 40.2 percent shooting. They tallied 13 steals and turned 17 Minnesota turnovers into 23 points. And despite playing the night before in Sacramento, Memphis started quickly. Tough defense led to 1-for-16 shooting by Minnesota and a 15 point lead after the first 7:30. Kevin Love scored 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Ricky Rubio tallied his second double-double (12 points and 10 assists) in the losing effort.

QUOTABLE: "We had the lead at halftime and they came out with a lot of energy and we played tired. . . . But we rose up in the fourth quarter, we made a lot of big stops, got rebounds, and steals. . . We had some guys running on fumes tonight and we just kept battling and hung in there."
-- Memphis coach Lionel Hollins

THE STAT: Memphis made its free throws down the stretch, going 12-for-13 from the line in the fourth quarter. Minnesota, on the other hand, only made 13-for-24 (54.2 percent). And Memphis' 12 turnovers only led to seven Minnesota points, while Memphis got 23 points off Minnesota 17 turnovers.

TURNING POINT: After trailing by as many as five in the final quarter, Memphis' Rudy Gay and O. J. Mayo engineered a series of strong offensive possessions. And Tony Allen made both free throws on a flagrant-1 call on Luke Ridnour, giving Memphis an eight-point lead with 4:07 to play. From that point on, strong defense and made free throws gave Memphis the win.

NOTABLE: With his 27 points and 14 rebounds, Love became the first player to start the first six games of the season with at least 20 points and 12 rebounds. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the last to do it in 1975.

UP NEXT: For the Wolves, Friday vs. Cleveland, Sunday @ Washington, Monday vs. Toronto. For the Grizzlies, Friday @ Utah, Sunday @ Lakers, Tuesday vs. Oklahoma City.

• Grizzlies: Arthur, Randolph
• Timberwolves: Miller, Webster

• Grizzlies: --
• Timberwolves: --

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #54 Nick Buchert, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 17404
• Duration: 2:19