Grizzlies-Suns Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Jan 28 2012 2:11AM

The Memphis Grizzlies are trying to avoid their longest skid of the season.

The Phoenix Suns would like to avert their longest home losing streak in almost eight years.

Rudy Gay and the Grizzlies will try to begin re-establishing their momentum by capitalizing on the struggling Suns on Saturday night.

Memphis (10-8) had a seven-game winning streak snapped with Tuesday's 97-84 loss at Portland. The Grizzlies shot 37.8 percent from the floor before turning in a worse performance two days later, making 35.7 percent from the field in a 98-91 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

"Our perimeter people did not shoot the ball very well," coach Lionel Hollins said.

Gay led the Grizzlies with 24 points against the Clippers, adding seven rebounds while hitting 9 of 19 shots - 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. It was an improved effort from his 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting against the Trail Blazers.

The forward leads Memphis with 18.7 points per game and is tied for third with 6.2 rebounds. He's averaging 24.4 points in his past five meetings with the Suns (6-12).

Gay could be poised for another strong performance against a Phoenix team that has lost eight of 10 while allowing opponents to average 99.0 points.

The Suns have dropped three in a row at home, and they haven't endured a longer slide there since a five-game skid from March 6-19, 2004.

Their overall losing streak reached three Friday with an ugly 109-71 loss at Portland. The Suns scored 33 first-half points, shot 37.2 percent for the game and committed 22 turnovers.

Grant Hill, who led the team with 12 points, felt the Suns gave up.

"The thing that was surprising was that I thought we kind of folded," Hill said. "We stopped competing there as soon as they came out and hit us hard."

A better performance from Steve Nash will likely be needed if Phoenix is to end its losing streaks. The All-Star point guard had five points in nearly 25 minutes Friday, missing 5 of 7 from the field while dishing out seven assists.

Nash has been solid at home, where he's averaging 14.1 points and 11.0 assists. He's scored 16.8 points per game with 11.4 assists in the last five home meetings with Memphis.

While Zach Randolph continues to recover from a bruised knee, Gay is getting ample assistance from Marc Gasol.

The Spanish center had 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists Friday, and is averaging career highs of 14.9 points and 10.3 boards.

"Marc Gasol has played well all season long," Hollins said. "Since he has come back as a player, he has really stepped up his role as a leader. He's looking to be more aggressive to score. He's just coming into his own of becoming a very good player."

Gasol managed just 17 total points in the last two meetings with Phoenix after scoring 26 on 12 of 13 from the field in a 123-118 double-overtime loss there Nov. 5, 2010.

Phoenix is 25-6 all-time at home against the Grizzlies, but has dropped two of the last three.

Dudley shoots Suns past Grizzlies 86-84

Posted Jan 29 2012 1:08AM

PHOENIX (AP) Another game, another bruise for Steve Nash.

At least he and the Phoenix Suns got a win this time.

Jared Dudley made two free throws with 3.3 seconds remaining to lift the Suns to an 86-84 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night. Phoenix snapped a three-game losing streak overall and a three-game home losing streak.

The Grizzlies had a chance to win, but Mike Conley, coming off a screen by Marc Gasol at the top right of the arc, missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"That was the only shot we could get," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. "We were trying to go back door and see if we could get a layup out of it. It didn't happen."

Nash collided with Gasol on the play and limped off the court with a bruised left thigh. Nash, who missed a game with a bruised right thigh earlier this season, thinks he'll be able to play Monday when the Suns play host to Dallas.

"It's just frustrating," Nash said. "Hopefully it will settle down by Monday. I'm optimistic I can play on Monday, but you never know."

Dudley finished with a season-high 20 points, Nash added 21 and Marcin Gortat finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns.

"We've got to do what we can to try and win at home," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "We'll continue to work and continue to try and get better. That's the only thing you can do."

Rudy Gay and Gasol had 18 points each and Conley added 15 for the Grizzlies, who have dropped three straight after a season-best seven-game winning streak.

"I think we are settling a little too much on the outside," Conley said. "Especially when you are on the road, you need to be aggressive getting it into the paint, trying to get an inside out with the big man, and we settled too much tonight. We have to attack the rim and try to get easy buckets."

Phoenix, which led by as many as 14 in the second half, was 8 for 8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

"We fouled them and couldn't stop them," Hollins said. "We battled and went zone to come all the way back and tie the score up a couple of times, but we just couldn't get a stop to win the game."

Dudley's was a perfect 4 for 4 from the line.

"I hadn't shot free throws like that since my BC (Boston College) days, when we played Syracuse and I was getting hacked," Dudley said.

Dudley returned to the starting lineup on Saturday as Gentry went back to the starting five with which he began the season.

"Guys responded to it," Dudley said. "I don't know if I felt better, though I think I played better. I just want to know what my role is. I'm more comfortable with starting because I was expecting to start this year."

The Suns took the lead for good midway through the first quarter and held a 63-56 advantage at the start of the fourth quarter. Memphis rallied to within two twice before finally tying the game at 82 on a driving layup by Dante Cunningham with 1:24 to go.

"There's no such thing as moral victories," said Tony Allen, who finished with 10 points in 22 minutes. "We just have to figure out how to get it done down the stretch."

Gortat missed a desperation 22-footer as the shot clock expired, and Cunningham couldn't make a 20-footer on the other end. But on the rebound, Gasol hooked Dudley's right arm for a loose-ball foul, setting up the decisive two free throws.

Nash, appearing in his 700th career game in a Suns uniform, entered the contest needed 13 assists to become the franchise's career leader in the category but his scoring was needed more than his ball distribution.

Nash finished 8 of 14 from the field and added two of the Suns' five 3-pointers.

"It's hard to pick rotations and hard to say a certain rotation is the reason we won," Nash said. "We just have to keep believing in each other, playing hard and playing for each other."

Notes: Gortat has 11 straight games with double-digit rebounds, the longest active streak in the NBA and the second-longest of the season. ... Phoenix is 4-1 when Dudley scores 15 or more points. ... Memphis finished its four-game road trip 1-4. ... The Suns won at home for the first time since Jan. 8.

Notebook: Suns 86, Grizzlies 84

By Jerry Brown, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday January 29, 2012 12:51AM

THE FACTS: Usually a 36-percent shooting night spells doom for the Phoenix Suns. But in this unique season where bad shooting nights are becoming the norm, the Suns found a way gut out a win a night after an embarrassing loss.

Phoenix held Memphis to just 32 points in the first half and led by 16 at halftime, but gave it all back in the second half. It needed 21 points from Steve Nash, 20 points and four free throws in the final 29.3 second by Jared Dudley and a one final defensive stand to grind out an 86-84 win over the Grizzlies.

"We had to gut it out there at the end," said Nash, who took a Marc Gasol knee to his left quad on the final play of the game -- an off-balance 3-pointer by Mike Conley that fell short of the mark -- and left the court limping. "After last night's embarrassment, we came out with a lot of heart and found a way. I like winning, so it's nice to win in whatever fashion."

Memphis was a perfect 7-0 against under .500 teams this season before falling to the 7-13 Suns. After a seven-game winning streak, the Grizzlies have now lost three straight on the road and go home looking to regroup.

"They got to the free throw line [early in the fourth quarter]. We fouled them and couldn't stop them," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "We had a couple of fouls early ... they were in the bonus early and made their free throws when they got to the line."

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Marcin Gortat had a double-double for the 10th time in the last 11 games, collecting 13 points and 12 rebounds in 44 minutes despite a 6-for-17 shooting night. Gortat is now averaging double-digit rebounds for the first time in his career (10.1 per game).

QUOTABLE: "I was so tired I almost fell asleep during the National Anthem. I don't remember it being this tough during the [work stoppage] in 1998-99. Of course, I was a little younger then."
-- Grant Hill, who at 39 years old played 35 minutes on the second of back-to-back games and helped hold Rudy Gay to 18 points.

THE STAT: For just the second time in the last four years, the Suns won a game in which they shot less than 40 percent from the field (36.4 percent). Since the start of the 2004-05 season (when Nash rejoined the team), the Sun have won six times when shooting less than 40 percent in a game.

TURNING POINT: After the Grizzlies had carved a 16-point Phoenix lead to one with 3:24 left, the Suns had a ragged possession before Nash found Hill for a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to restore the Phoenix lead to 82-78.

HOT: The Suns hit all eight of their free throws in the fourth quarter, including four in the last 29.3 seconds by Dudley. The Suns, who shot 50 percent (9-for-18) in Portland Friday, were 9-for-16 in the first three quarters Saturday.

NOT: Suns forward Channing Frye was given the start for the first time since Jan. 17, but it didn't get him started. Frye was 1-for-9 from the field, 0-for-3 from 3-point range and contributed just two points and three rebounds in 14 minutes

NOTABLE: Nash finished with six assists on Saturday and now has 6,511 assists as a Sun, leaving him seven assists behind Kevin Johnson's franchise record of 6,518. Nash also played his 700th game in a Phoenix uniform, joining Alvan Adams (988) and Walter Davis (766) as the only Suns to do so.

STAT II: The Suns are 4-1 when Dudley scores at least 15 points and 3-11 when he doesn't. Also returning to the starting lineup for the first time since Jan. 17, he had a season-high 20 points against Memphis including the game-winning free throws with 3.3 second left.

QUOTABLE II: "We had our chances. There's no such thing as moral victories. We just have to figure out how to get it done down the stretch. It could have gone either way on this trip. We had a sense of urgency in the second half, but we can't dig ourselves a hole like that."
-- Memphis guard Tony Allen.

UP NEXT: For the Grizzlies, Monday vs. San Antonio, Tuesday vs. Denver and Thursday @ New Orleans. For the Suns, Monday vs. Dallas, Wednesday @ New Orleans and Friday @ Houston.

• Grizzlies: Arthur, Randolph
• Suns: --

• Grizzlies: --
• Suns: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #40 Leon Wood, #45 Brian Forte
• Attendance: 14903
• Duration: 2:18