Jazz-Grizzlies Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Feb 11 2012 2:02PM

Although they've struggled over the last three weeks, the Memphis Grizzlies continue to play with a lot of confidence at home.

The Grizzlies will go for their third straight win Sunday night when they host the Utah Jazz.

After losing seven of nine while averaging 87.3 points, Memphis has won its last two - both at home - including a 98-92 victory over Indiana on Friday.

The Grizzlies (14-13) had five players score in double figures and received a lift off the bench in the fourth quarter from their reserves.

After the score was tied at 86 with 4:30 remaining, reserve O.J. Mayo hit five of the Grizzlies' 10 free throws down the stretch to finish with 13 points. But it was the play of center Hamed Haddadi and guard Jeremy Pargo early in the period that Mike Conley felt was especially crucial.

"It gives you a little more energy and you are able to play harder for a longer period of time," said Conley, who scored 15 points. "The last four or five minutes of the game is where it's crunch time and you have to make the right decisions. Having your legs is a big part of that."

Playing at home also appears to be giving the Grizzlies energy. They improved to 9-4 at home with Friday's win, and have won three straight at FedEx Forum against Utah.

"Every team in this league is tough, but we know that Utah is playing really well right now," guard Quincy Pondexter said. "They are surprising everybody. When we come out, we are going to use what we did this game to learn for the next game. It is fun. This half of the season is fun. Every game is a well-fought battle, and we are looking forward to it."

Though the Jazz (13-12) have Pondexter's attention, they're lost three straight and five of six heading into a road back-to-back-to-back stretch. They are coming off a 101-87 defeat against Oklahoma City on Friday.

Al Jefferson scored 20 points and Raja Bell hit three 3-pointers en route to 13 points, but Utah was outrebounded 46-32, giving up 10 offensive boards.

The Jazz have averaged 91.3 points the last three games. Paul Millsap, who scores 16.3 points per game, was held well under his average for the second time in that stretch after going 4 for 15 and finishing with 10 points Friday.

"I thought he went in there pretty hard," coach Tyrone Corbin said. "He's just to keep plugging at it. ... He'll make the shots, he just didn't make them tonight."

Millsap is averaging 13.4 points and shooting 41.9 percent the last eight games after putting up 22.8 points on 57.4 percent shooting in the previous nine.

Utah has lost four straight away from home to drop to 2-7 on the road. The Jazz are giving up a league-worst 104.2 points outside of Salt Lake City and they know the lack of rest will make defending a challenge in Memphis.

"They're all crucial for us now," Corbin said. "We've got to concentrate on controlling the tempo of the game and be a lot more aggressive on both ends of the floor."

The Jazz received the kind of defensive effort they are looking for on this trip the last time they last faced the Grizzlies. Utah forced 20 turnovers and held them to 41.3 percent shooting in a 94-85 home win Jan. 6.

Jefferson leads Jazz to 98-88 win over Grizzlies

Posted Feb 13 2012 1:27AM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Down the stretch, the Utah Jazz's shooting and defense spelled the end for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Utah was 12 of 19 from the field and caused six Memphis turnovers in the final period to pull away for a 98-88 victory Sunday night.

"When we make some stops on the defensive end, we're able to push it a little bit more and get into our offense, instead of just walking the ball up the court and being stagnant," said Gordon Hayward, who had a season-high 23 points to lead the Jazz. "That's really where we turned it around."

Al Jefferson had 21 points and a season-high 15 rebounds as Utah snapped a three-game losing streak. Paul Millsap finished with 16, shooting 7 of 11. Raja Bell had 10 points.

Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said Jefferson played in control and made the right decisions - shooting if he was one-on-one and passing to the open man if he was double-teamed. That led to four assists from the Jazz center.

"He did a great job of sticking within what we do," Corbin said. "We always put the ball in his hands to make plays, and I thought he made some great passes."

Hayward shot 8 of 12 from the field, part of a 51 percent shooting performance by the Jazz. Starters Hayward, Millsap, Jefferson, Bell and Devin Harris ended the night hitting 33 of their 56 shots.

Rudy Gay led Memphis with 22 points, while Mike Conley (six assists) and Marc Gasol scored 17 apiece.

Utah was able to pull away in the fourth quarter by not only forcing Memphis into turnovers, but getting to the rim on offense. On three occasions out of the half court set, Derrick Favors was able to score on alley-oop dunks.

That and Hayward's outside shooting helped Utah rebuild its lead to 96-84 when Jefferson converted a 3-point play with 2:18 left. At that point, Memphis had no answer.

Memphis had trailed 81-76 with just under 7 minutes left, but the Grizzlies missed two free throws and mishandled a fastbreak opportunity to give Utah momentum.

"From there, the dam broke, the flood started, and that's what happened in the fourth quarter," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "To put it bluntly, we didn't guard and execute offensively."

Utah built an early lead and carried a 46-40 advantage into intermission.

Memphis got off to a terrible start, missing its first eight shots, and was still shooting 2 of 11 as Utah built an early double-digit lead, eventually reaching 13 points.

Memphis would score the last eight points of the opening quarter to get back in the game.

But the misfiring continued for Memphis in the half as the Grizzlies shot 35 percent for the first two quarters.

The Jazz seemed to be in much better control, and their 45 percent shooting was accurate compared to Memphis.

"People were aggressive, like controlled aggressive," Bell said. "We were moving the ball, and there were times when people were getting double-teamed, and the ball swung around the perimeter and we found an open look."

Hayward and Jefferson had 14 each to lead the Jazz in the first half, while Gasol scored 10 for Memphis before halftime.

Memphis took its first lead on a 3-point play by Conley with about 5 minutes left in the third. But it was Gay who sparked the rally with 10 early points in the period.

As the game got closer, Memphis was having trouble with turnovers. Utah was getting on the glass, and Bell, who was scoreless in the first half, began connecting on his jumper.

Utah scored six unanswered points late in the period and carried a 69-66 lead into the final period.

"We should be finishing these games like we're supposed to: closeouts, anything. We didn't have any of that finish," Gay said of the Grizzlies' problems down the stretch. "It's a lot of things. Basically effort and going out there with a certain amount of will."

Notes: Memphis wore gold and green throwback jerseys representing the old Memphis Tams of the American Basketball Association. The color scheme was because the Tams were owned by Charlie Finley of the Oakland A's. Tams stood for Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi - the three states that comprise the area around Memphis. ... Memphis G Tony Allen returned to the starting lineup. Allen missed three games with a sore left hip and knee, and came off the bench when he returned Friday against Indiana. ... The Jazz are 6-0 when they score better than 50 percent and 8-1 when holding opponents to less than 90 points.

Notebook: Jazz 98, Grizzlies 88

Posted Monday February 13, 2012 12:47AM

By Marlon W. Morgan, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: A steal from Rudy Gay, followed by a dunk, seemed to get Utah forward Gordon Hayward off to a good start. Hayward maintained that aggressive play throughout, scoring a season-high 23 points while also dishing out five assists and the Jazz picked up just their third road win of the season, 98-88, at Memphis.

QUOTABLE: "This is our first back-to-back-to-back. Obviously, this is a good first win for us going into it. We're going to need all the momentum and confidence we can get. If we can keep our confidence level up and continue to play basketball like we did tonight, we'll be alright. We came out tonight with a chip on our shoulder, wanting to get back on the right track."
-- Utah forward Paul Millsap, who had 16 points and eight rebounds.

THE STAT: With their 88 points, the Grizzlies have failed to score 100 or more points in regulation in 13 straight games. They last scored 100 in a 100-97 overtime win against Denver Jan. 31. The last time Memphis scored 100 in regulation was Jan. 21 when it beat Sacramento, 128-95.

TURNING POINT: It took the Grizzlies until the 5:04 mark of the third quarter to take their first lead of the game at 61-59 after a three-point play by Mike Conley. It was a short-lived lead, however, as Utah quickly answered with a 10-2 run. The Grizzlies never led again.

HOT: Utah center Al Jefferson was more than a load for Grizzlies' All Star center Marc Gasol. Jefferson scored 21 points on 10 of 17 shooting and hauled in a game-high 15 rebounds. While double-teamed, he also managed to pick up four assists.

NOT: Grizzlies' guard O.J. Mayo never got into the flow of the game. The team's leading scorer off the bench, averaging 12.4 points, scored just two points on a pair of free throws. He was 0 for 3 from the floor.

QUOTABLE II: "Today is something we shouldn't be doing this season. This is basically our problem. We should be finishing these games like we're supposed to -- closeouts, anything. We didn't have any of that finish. It's a lot of things, basically effort and going out there with a certain amount of will, offensively and defensively. We haven't done that. We need to pick it up when we're down."
-- Grizzlies forward Gay, who scored a team-high 22 with six rebounds, but had five turnovers.

NOTABLE: The Jazz, where were 2-7 on the road this season, were playing their first of a back-to-back-to-back set. Tonight they will play in New Orleans before returning home Tuesday to face Oklahoma City. Sunday's win snapped a three-game losing streak for a Jazz team that had also lost five of its last six. ... After not playing in Utah's last four games, rookie guard Alec Burks played just under five minutes in the second half. Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin said he will continue to find ways to get Burks more minutes. ... The Grizzlies have now scored less than 90 points in four of their last five games. ... Behind Millsap and Jefferson, the Jazz outscored the Grizzlies, 54-40, in the paint.

UP NEXT: For the Jazz, Monday at New Orleans, Tuesday at Oklahoma City, Friday vs. Washington. For the Grizzlies, Tuesday vs. Houston, Wednesday at New Jersey, Friday vs. Denver.

• Jazz: Carroll
• Grizzlies: Arthur, Randolph

• Jazz: --
• Grizzlies: Hollins

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #47 Bennie Adams, #60 James Williams
• Attendance: 14424
• Duration: 2:15