Pistons-Grizzlies Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Mar 03 2012 12:06AM

The Memphis Grizzlies are surging, and their upcoming schedule could help keep it that way.

Rudy Gay looks to continue pacing the Grizzlies as they seek their eighth win in nine games Saturday night against the visiting Detroit Pistons.

Memphis (21-15) has won three straight and nine of 11 after dropping seven of the previous nine.

"I've been on enough teams where we're just playing to play and this team isn't like that," Gay said. "We're actually trying to go out there and be aggressive and get Ws."

The wins could keep coming with the Grizzlies' next three games against teams outside playoff position, and over an eight-day period.

After hosting Detroit (12-25), Memphis visits Golden State on Wednesday before a stop in Phoenix next Saturday.

The Grizzlies haven't had much trouble with the Pistons of late, winning four in a row by an average of 13.0 points. They extended that run Jan. 20, winning 98-81 at Detroit behind a game-high 24 points from Gay.

The forward wasn't nearly as effective in the most recent meeting in Memphis on Nov. 24, 2010, making 6 of 17 field goals to finish with 17 points.

Gay, though, is averaging 20.4 points while connecting on 9 of 21 3-pointers over the last 11 games. He had 23 points and 12 rebounds in a 102-99 victory at Toronto on Friday.

"The biggest thing for us is our chemistry," guard Mike Conley said. "The way we're moving the ball and communicating on defense has just been phenomenal."

Conley had 21 points and five assists against the Raptors, two days after getting 20 and 10 in a 96-85 win over Dallas.

He had 14 points with 11 assists in the latest matchup versus the Pistons.

The Pistons are looking to build on Wednesday's 109-94 victory over league-worst Charlotte. That was a major improvement a day after Tayshaun Prince said the team was "still on vacation" after a 97-68 loss to Philadelphia in its first game after the All-Star break.

"I think we clearly invested more in (Wednesday's) game than we did (against the 76ers)," coach Lawrence Frank said. "We all knew what happened, but we put that behind us and we made progress. That's the important thing for us right now."

Detroit will try to carry its momentum onto the road, where it has lost 14 of 17.

The Grizzlies will have to contend with Pistons center Greg Monroe, who had 19 points and a career-high 20 rebounds against the Bobcats.

Monroe leads Detroit with averages of 16.8 points and 10.1 boards, but he struggled shooting against Memphis in January. He made 4 of 12 from the field to finish with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Rookie Brandon Knight had 22 points in that meeting, and is coming off Wednesday's 20-point effort after being limited to eight against Philadelphia.

Mayo, Grizzlies pull away from Pistons in fourth

Posted Mar 04 2012 12:39AM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) The Memphis Grizzlies went long distance to break open a close game.

Memphis, 22nd in the league in 3-point shooting, hit 5 of 6 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter to beat the Detroit Pistons 100-83 on Saturday night.

O.J. Mayo scored 17 points, going 4 of 5 outside the arc and connecting on all three attempts in the fourth quarter, when Memphis scored 17 unanswered points.

"We're not a big 3-point shooting team, but, believe it or not, we have 3-point shooters on this team," said Memphis guard Mike Conley, the only Memphis player to miss a long-range attempt down the stretch. "Our philosophy is so much inside-out that we just don't look to shoot the ball at the 3-point line."

That was reflected in the scoring from the Grizzlies front line starters. Marc Gasol had 17 points and nine rebounds. Marreese Speights scored 16 points, and Rudy Gay added 15. Quincy Pondexter had 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, while Conley finished with 10 points and 12 assists.

Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 20 points, although he was 6 of 22 from the field. Brandon Knight scored 15, and Greg Monroe had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Tayshaun Prince added 13 points.

The Memphis shooting in the fourth period - 11 of 20 for 55 percent - allowed the Grizzlies to outscore Detroit 31-13. Memphis forced seven turnovers in the frame.

"Defensively, the Grizzlies stepped up their game in the last 6 minutes," Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. "Because of their pressure, we lost our poise and had a hard time getting off quality shots. With their defensive aggressiveness, we lost momentum, and they took advantage of it."

Despite hitting only eight of 25 shots in the third period, the Pistons carried a 70-69 lead into the fourth.

Neither team held more than a one-possession lead through the first half of the final period before Memphis' big run. Mayo made a pair of 3-pointers, while Pondexter had one and a three-point play in the rally.

By the time the Pistons' scoring drought of just under 6 minutes ended, the Grizzlies had pulled away to an insurmountable 15-point advantage.

"It was just awesome," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said of his team's defensive play. "I thought we switched. We challenged shots. We got steals. Our energy level just rose.

"Through all of the foul trouble and all the things that were going on throughout the game, we stored it up, and, on that stretch, we exploded."

The Grizzlies shot 49 percent, while the Pistons were held to 38 percent. Memphis also forced 21 turnovers, leading to 25 points.

"We just have to take care of the ball," Stuckey said. "We turned the ball over a lot at the end of the game. I think if we would just take care of the ball and spread the court out a little more, we would have been fine.

"In the first half, we got pretty much whatever we wanted."

The Pistons used 12 points from Stuckey and 10 from Prince to carry a 47-46 lead into the break. Detroit had 12 turnovers and the Grizzlies had 10.

Memphis held its biggest lead of the half at 40-32 on a 6-foot jumper from Speights with 7:31 left before the break. But the Pistons clicked off seven straight points, giving Detroit the momentum for its halftime lead.

The teams stayed close until Memphis' fourth-quarter rally, and the unexpected accuracy from outside the arc.

"On any given night, it's another player that steps up," Pondexter said. "You never know how you are going to win games in this league, but as long as you win them, that's all that matters.

Notes: Monroe was coming off a career-high 20 rebounds in Wednesday's win over Charlotte. He had 11 against Memphis. It was Monroe's 19th double-double of the season. Detroit is now 3-15 on the road. .Memphis has a five-game winning streak in the series. .The Grizzlies are now 11-0 when scoring 100 points.

Notebook: Grizzlies 100, Pistons 83

Posted Sunday March 4, 2012 12:19AM

By Ron Higgins for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Suffocating defense, unexpectedly accurate three-point shooting and balanced scoring pushed the Memphis Grizzlies to a 100-83 victory over the Detroit Pistons at FedExForum Saturday night. The Grizzlies had a season-high seven players in double figures, led by 17 points each from center Marc Gasol and reserve guard O.J. Mayo. The Grizzlies, now a season-best seven games over .500 at 22-15, won for the fourth straight time. They are also 10-2 in their last 12 games, a stretch they haven't had since Nov. 12 to Dec. 6, 2005. Detroit (12-26), which led 78-76 with 8:10 left to play before completely collapsing, was led by guards Rodney Stuckey and Brandon Knight with 20 and 15 points respectively.

QUOTABLE: "When I see that, I know I did my job."
-- Guard Mike Conley, who had 10 points, 12 assists and 4 steals, on the Grizzlies having seven players score in double figures.

THE STAT: The Grizzlies, not exactly the NBA's most feared outside sharpshooters ranking 22nd in the league in three-point percentage, made just 1-of-5 threes in first three quarters vs. the Pistons. Then in the final period, Memphis had three different players combine to nail 5-of-6 threes.

TURNING POINT: Trailing 78-76 with 8:10 left to play, the Grizzlies went on a 17-0 run in the next 5:40 to take a 15-point lead heading into the game's final 2:30. During that stretch, the Pistons went 0-for-6 from the field and committed five turnovers, including two shot clock violations. Almost half of the Grizzlies' 31 points in the quarter came off five three-pointers with reserves Quincy Pondexter and Mayo scoring 10 and 9 points respectively. "Our defense was just awesome (in the fourth quarter)," Grizzlies' coach Lionel Hollins said. "We switched, we challenged shots, we got steals. Our energy just rose. We just exploded in that stretch."

QUOTABLE II: "They're just a defense-first team. They're always going for steals, always helping each other and always trying to make sure they get stops."
-- Piston guard Knight on the Grizzlies' scrambling team defense.

HOT: Mayo, the Grizzlies' biggest three-point threat with the deepest range, hit 4-of-5 threes including 3-for-3 in the fourth quarter. One of them was right in the mug of Detroit 6-10 forward Jonas Jerebko and Mayo's final three of the night was a catch-and-launch 26-footer that beat the shot clock. "That's my favorite shot, a straight-on three," Mayo said.

NOT: Detroit's bench could have stayed home, because it took the night off. The Pistons, which played four reserves substantially (and three more in the game's final 72 seconds) got outscored by the Grizzlies' four-deep bench 31-11. The Memphis bench scored 21 points in the fourth quarter.

NOTABLE: With the win, Memphis is now 121-119 since Hollins was hired as head coach on Jan. 25, 2009. ... The Grizzlies are 11-0 this season when scoring 100 or more points. ... Memphis has won five straight over the Pistons, the longest ever winning streak in the series for the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are now 5-0 against Eastern Conference teams this season while Detroit is 0-4 vs. the West.

UP NEXT: For the Grizzlies, Wednesday at Golden State, Saturday at Phoenix, next Sunday at Denver. For the Pistons, home games Tuesday vs. the Lakers, Friday vs. Atlanta and Saturday vs. Toronto.

• Pistons: Villanueva
• Grizzlies: Arthur, Randolph

• Pistons: --
• Grizzlies: --

• Lead Changes: 10
• Times Tied: 14

• Arena: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
• Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #45 Brian Forte, #67 Matt Myers
• Attendance: 17569
• Duration: 2:23