Grizzlies-Hornets Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Jan 17 2012 9:31PM

Strong starts helped the Memphis Grizzlies close their homestand with three straight wins. Now they'll look to maintain that intensity on the road.

The Grizzlies visit the struggling New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night in the teams' second meeting in five nights.

After losing the opener of its four-game homestand to Oklahoma City, Memphis bounced back with three straight victories, building double-digit leads in the first half of each win.

The Grizzlies (6-6) took a 20-point lead in the second quarter against Chicago on Monday en route to a 102-86 win. Rudy Gay scored 24 points on 11-of-18 shooting and Marc Gasol added 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Memphis shot 69.2 percent in the first half and led 58-38 at the break. The Grizzlies have averaged 54.7 points and shot 54.0 percent in the opening half of their last three games. Over their first nine, they averaged 46.4 points on 46.0 percent from the field.

"I thought we came out with great energy and great focus," coach Lionel Hollins said. "Our defense was really good."

They also got off to a good start against New Orleans on Saturday, taking a 57-47 lead into halftime in a 108-99 victory. Gay finished with 23 points and Gasol had 20 and 11 rebounds.

After ending its homestand on a high note, Memphis will play six of its next seven on the road. The Grizzlies have struggled away from home, averaging 80.6 points while losing four of five.

Gasol, averaging 17.0 points at home, has been held under nine points in three of the team's five road games while shooting 40.4 percent.

"We are getting better every day but we can't stop," Gasol said. "We're taking baby steps right now. To get where we want to get, it's going to take a lot more effort."

While Memphis isn't playing well on the road, Western Conference-worst New Orleans (3-10) has been struggling everywhere with five straight losses and 10 in 11 games.

The Hornets were held to their lowest point total of the season in an 84-77 loss to Portland on Monday, their sixth straight defeat at home.

New Orleans scored 35 points in the first half while shooting 39.5 percent. The Hornets also turned the ball over 19 times and went 0 of 9 from 3-point range.

"We've hit a funk. There's no denying that. But you have to continue to compete," coach Monty Williams said. "We get to play basketball and we get paid. ... A lot of people would love to have our problems. ... You've got to keep fighting and value your occupation and take it seriously."

To spark the offense, Williams inserted Jason Smith into the lineup in place of Chris Kaman, who scored nine points the previous two games while shooting 3 of 16. Coming off the bench, Kaman finished with 12 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes.

The Hornets remained without starters Eric Gordon (right knee) and Trevor Ariza (right groin). Williams hopes Ariza returns by the end of the week.

"We are trying to figure out our roles and different lineups and different positions," Kaman said. "Everybody is just trying to deal with it and figure it all out."

The Grizzlies have held New Orleans to 89.7 points during a three-game win streak in the series.

Gasol lead Grizzlies past Hornets 93-87

By BRETT MARTEL
Posted Jan 19 2012 2:26AM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Marc Gasol likes to think his good basketball genes go beyond his 7-foot-1 stature and even affect his decision-making on the court.

"I try to make the right play every time," Gasol said. "If it's my shot, it's my shot. If I feel somebody else has a better shot than I'm going to take, I have to pass it. That's my DNA. There's nothing I can really change with that."

Not that the Grizzlies would want Gasol to change much after the way he dominated in Memphis' 93-87 victory over the reeling New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night.

Gasol, the brother of Lakers All-Star, Pau, scored all of his season-high 22 points before the fourth quarter and grabbed 12 rebounds, helping the Grizzlies extend their winning streak to four and climb above .500 for the first time this season with a 7-6 record.

"That's the number I care about - how many win we have," Gasol said when asked about whether his stat line against the Hornets is what he expects from himself on a consistent basis. "We have seven wins. We're over .500 right now and we're improving every game."

Mike Conley hit four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points and 10 assists for Memphis, which had five players score in double figures while sending the Hornets to their fifth straight loss and 11th defeat in 12 games.

Jarrett Jack tied a season-high with 27 points and his pull-up jumper got New Orleans as close as 87-85 with 1:28 left, but O.J. Mayo's 20-foot jumper helped the Grizzlies hang on as New Orleans struggled to score or get key rebounds in the final minute.

"We've just got to make better basketball plays," Jack said. "It has nothing to do with the coaches, anybody else. It's these 15 guys in the locker room, it's on our shoulders to make it and get it better."

Trevor Ariza had 18 points, seven assists and four steals - all season highs - for the Hornets in his return from a pulled right groin that had sidelined him for eight games.

Mayo scored 16 for Memphis, which shot 49 percent (36 of 73). Rudy Gay and Tony Allen each added 12 points.

"Another great win. We're trying to build some consistency," Allen said. "They made a run and we were able to weather the storm. ... We're doing a good job of sharing the ball and we have the confidence to make the pass to the open guy."

Jason Smith scored 14 in a starting role for New Orleans, while Marco Belinelli added 10.

New Orleans never led and trailed by as much as 14 in the first half, but managed to keep the game close by shooting nearly 49 percent (34 of 70).

The Grizzlies had 17 turnovers, but the Hornets did them one worse with 18.

"Obviously when you continually have these shortcomings, it gets frustrating," Jack said. "If you come in and you're like, `We have to take care of the turnovers,' and we still have 18 turnovers. That's when it's like, `Come on guys. We're better than this."'

Memphis outrebounded New Orleans 37-34, and outscored the Hornets 38-30 inside and 13-2 on fast breaks.

The Grizzlies appeared to be cruising to victory when Mayo's 3 made it 87-75, but the Hornets responded with a scrappy 10-0 run during which Jack scored six straight points on a driving layup and a pair of jumpers before Memphis held on.

Gasol hit a variety of mid-range jumpers to complement his inside scoring and his last field goal was a dunk that gave the Grizzlies a 72-67 lead heading into the final period. He also had a pair of key offensive rebounds in the final minute of the game.

Memphis exploded out of the gate, hitting 11 of its first 13 shots including Conley's three 3-pointers, the third giving the Grizzlies a 27-14 lead. They closed the first quarter shooting 81 percent (13 of 16), which was good enough for a 33-22 lead and also marked the most points the Hornets had given up in a first quarter this season.

Memphis shot 64 percent in the opening half (23 of 36), but the Hornets shot well enough in the second quarter (9 of 17) to keep the game competitive.

Jack reached 12 points in the second quarter when he hit his second 3 during a 7-0 run that pulled New Orleans to 49-45. Ariza had 10 points in the first half, hitting a jumper that trimmed Memphis' lead to 51-48 before Gasol responded with a pair of mid-range jumpers to give the Grizzlies a 55-48 lead going into the locker room.

Notes: The Hornets used their seventh different starting lineup in 14 games. ... The Grizzlies are 2-0 against New Orleans this season. ... The Hornets are back on the court Thursday night in Houston, while Memphis plays at Detroit on Friday. ... The Grizzlies are 6-3 since Zach Randolph went out with a torn right medial collateral ligament on Jan. 1. ... Announced attendance was a season-low 12,045.

Notebook: Grizzlies 93, Hornets 87

By Larry Holder, for NBA.com
Posted Wednesday January 18, 2012 11:19PM

THE FACTS: Marc Gasol was a force on the low post with 22 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the New Orleans Hornets 93-87 on Wednesday night in the New Orleans Arena. Memphis has won four consecutive games, while New Orleans has lost 11 of its last 12 games.

QUOTABLE: "I told our team this was the way we were four years ago. We weren't winning a lot of games, but we were battling and trying to get better every day regardless whether it was a win or loss. That's where they [the Hornets] are now. ... We just had to stay after it."
-- Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins

THE STAT: Turnovers have haunted the Hornets the last three games and they did once again on Wednesday as New Orleans gave the ball away 18 times. The Hornets have turned the ball over 54 times in their last three games, all losses.

TURNING POINT: The Hornets fought back little by little through the first half after trailing by as many as 14 points in the first half to eventually tie it up at 55 by going on a 7-0 run to open the third quarter. Then the Grizzlies promptly went on a 7-0 run of their own and fought off New Orleans the rest of the way.

QUOTABLE II: "The turnovers. It's the same thing every night. ... We don't have enough to overcome turnovers. It's not one or two guys. It's everyone."
-- Hornets coach Monty Williams

HOT: Grizzlies guard Mike Conley took care of the backcourt, while Gasol handled down low. Conley went 6-for-11 from the floor (4-for-7 from 3-point land) to score 18 points along with 10 assists and two steals in nearly 42 minutes.

NOT: Other than Jason Smith, the Hornets' big men played pretty small against Memphis. Emeka Okafor, Chris Kaman and Carl Landry scored a combined 10 points. The three players will net a combined salary of around $33 million this season.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Hornets point guard Jarrett Jack has scored 20 or more points in consecutive games and has hit the 20-point mark five times this season. He had a game-high 27 points on 11-for-15 shooting (4-for-4 from behind the arc), along with eight assists. Williams said that he's been telling Jack to be more aggressive at times because of the lack of scorers on the roster with Eric Gordon still injured.

NOTABLE: Hornets forward Trevor Ariza started Wednesday night against the Grizzlies after missing the last eight games with a groin injury. Ariza did everything he could to try to pull New Orleans to a win with 18 points, five rebounds, seven assists and four steals. ... The Grizzlies' O.J. Mayo came up big off the bench with 16 points in nearly 26 minutes. ... The Hornets have yet to score 100 or more points this season. They've been held to less than 90 points in nine of their 14 games this season.

UP NEXT: For the Grizzlies, Friday @ Detroit, Saturday vs. Sacramento, Monday @ Golden State. For the Hornets, Thursday @ Houston, Saturday vs. Dallas, Monday vs. Sacramento.

• Grizzlies: Arthur, Randolph
• Hornets: Gordon, Henry

• Grizzlies: --
• Hornets: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
• Officials: #47 Bennie Adams, #8 Marc Davis, #45 Brian Forte
• Attendance: 12045
• Duration: 2:12