Warriors-Grizzlies Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Apr 03 2012 12:27AM

The Memphis Grizzlies are off to a solid start on a stretch of three games in three nights.

They have a good chance for further success with the Golden State Warriors in town.

The Grizzlies look for a third straight victory overall Tuesday night and a sixth consecutive win over the Warriors, who are hoping to avoid a season-high six-game losing streak.

In the midst of five games in six days, Memphis (29-22) won the final two of a three-game road trip, culminating Monday in a 94-88 victory at Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City that snapped the Thunder's six-game winning streak.

It also gave the Grizzlies even more momentum as they try to make the best of their back-to-back-to-back, which concludes Wednesday at Dallas.

"It's pretty much just go out and hoop every day," said O.J. Mayo, whose 22 points against the Thunder included a key 3-pointer with 17 seconds left. "We play games every day, so we just try to go out and compete and give ourselves the best chance of winning."

Minus point guard Mike Conley for a second straight game because of a sore ankle, the Grizzlies overcame a 39.1-percent shooting effort to beat a team vying for the NBA's best overall record.

It's uncertain if Conley, averaging 12.8 points and a team-high 7.1 assists, will return Tuesday.

"We're a no-excuse team," said All-Star forward Marc Gasol, who had 13 points and eight rebounds Monday. "We've got to play. We've got to do what we've got to do."

The Grizzlies now return home, where they have won two in a row and eight of 10. Memphis, which beat the Warriors 104-103 at the FedEx Forum on Feb. 18, has averaged 110.7 points and shot 51.8 during a six-game home winning streak over Golden State that dates to a 117-86 loss April 4, 2008.

The Grizzlies won the first two meetings with the Warriors (20-31) this season by one point, before rolling to a 110-92 victory at Golden State on March 7.

Rudy Gay was held to 12 points while shooting 4 of 15 at Oklahoma City on Monday, but he has averaged 25.4 on 54.8 percent shooting in his last seven games against the Warriors. He had 26 points and 12 assists at Golden State last month.

The Warriors won three in a row following that home defeat to Memphis, but have since dropped 10 of 12. Golden State's current overall skid reached five games Sunday after a 120-112 road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

"At this point, we're trying to finish the season strong," said forward David Lee, who had 27 points against the Lakers. "We're trying to continue to play our last games with as much intensity as we can and get as many wins as we can."

One of the Warriors' most consistent contributors throughout the season, Lee has averaged 26.3 points in his last four games. However, he's averaging only 12.7 in three meetings with Memphis this season.

Grizzlies top Warriors 98-94 for 3rd straight win

Posted Apr 04 2012 12:32AM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) For three quarters, the Memphis Grizzlies did not resemble a team coming off a win at Oklahoma City.

Only a fourth-quarter rally kept Memphis from taking a step back and the Grizzlies defeated the Golden State Warriors 98-94 on Tuesday night.

Memphis overcame a 12-point Golden State lead early in the fourth to keep from following up Monday night's victory at Oklahoma City with a loss to a sub-.500 team.

"That would have been devastating," said point guard Mike Conley, who finished with 18 points for Memphis.

"I think everybody understood that. We started to try to find it within ourselves when we were down eight or nine at the end, saying: `We can't lose this game. That game we played (Monday) night is nothing if we don't win this game.' Guys understood that and went out there and found a way to win."

O.J. Mayo had 19 points to lead Memphis scorers, Dante Cunningham scored 13 points, hitting all six of his shots for Memphis, which played with little drive for most of the game but rallied to win its third straight.

Marc Gasol added 12, Rudy Gay finished with 11 points, despite going 3 of 13 from the field, and Gilbert Arenas scored 10 points, hitting all four of his shots.

David Lee scored 22 points and had 13 rebounds to lead the Warriors, who lost their sixth straight. Nate Robinson scored 18, and Brandon Rush added 13 on 4 of 7 from the field.

The Grizzlies won the game by outscoring Golden State 28-15 in the final period, shooting 70.5 percent.

"We turned the ball over and gave them eight points off our five turnovers," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said of blowing the lead. "We also gave them seven points off of second-shot chances. That's 15 points off our lack of discipline.

"They increased the volume, and we ran for the hills."

The fourth-quarter rally was keyed by Cunningham, who had nine in the period, while Mayo and Gasol scored six apiece.

"At some point in the game, they turned up their defensive pressure, and we didn't react to it," Lee said. "We had some turnovers. Give them credit. They hit shots down the stretch."

For the first three quarters, the Warriors appeared to be the ones in line for the playoffs, instead of hoping for good draft position.

The game started pretty ugly. The Warriors missed nine of their first 10 shots, and both teams ended the first quarter hitting 9 of 24 from the field.

The offense picked up in the second as Lee was effective for the Warriors, while Memphis was relying on balanced scoring.

Golden State, which started three rookies - Klay Thompson, Jeremy Tyler and Charles Jenkins - went to their veterans to take a second-quarter lead.

Lee's basket with 2.4 seconds left in the half gave him 14 points and tied the game at 50 at the break.

Conley, who hit 5 of 7 shots including 2 of 3 outside the arc, had 12 for Memphis.

"Offensively, we could get whatever we wanted to," Gasol said, "but defensively, that was a problem. (The Warriors) don't really have anything to play for, so they were just throwing up shots and making bad shots because they have no conscience right now."

The Warriors extended the lead to nine in the middle stages of the third as the Grizzlies continued to look lethargic. Mayo hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Memphis close, but Robinson answered with consecutive long-range jumpers to provide the Warriors a buffer.

That helped Golden State carry a 79-70 lead into the final quarter, and a 3-pointer by Rush on the Warriors' initial possession of the fourth gave them the first double-digit lead of the game.

"Nate Robinson really got it going on the pick-and-rolls and was pulling up hitting fadeaways and getting to the basket," Mayo said. "We pretty much felt like we needed to get the ball out of his hands. ... Just enforce our will on the game."

The lead reached 86-74 on another Robinson basket with just over 10 minutes to play before the Grizzlies began their comeback.

Memphis coach Lionel Hollins, who had been shuffling players all night looking for the right combination, finally pushed the right buttons having Gasol, Cunningham, Mayo, Arenas and Tony Allen on the floor together.

"We were really struggling the first three quarters, especially in the third quarter," Hollins said. "I thought our defense was good in the first quarter, we just couldn't score. In the second quarter, we actually scored, but didn't do much defensively.

"In the fourth, we finally found a group."

Notes: Memphis was back at full strength after starting guard Conley and reserve forward Cunningham sat out Monday's win at Oklahoma City with ankle problems. ... The Grizzlies were playing the middle game of their only back-to-back-to-back series of the season. ... Meanwhile, Golden State was playing its second game in a stretch of six of seven games on the road. ... Warriors F/C Andris Biedrins returned to action after missing the previous five games with a right groin strain. ... Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, in town for Wednesday's events on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s death, was seated with Memphis owner Michael Heisley at center court.

Notebook: Grizzlies 98, Warriors 94

Posted Tuesday April 3, 2012 11:57PM

By Marlon W. Morgan, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Memphis Grizzlies had to use a little more grit-and-grind than they planned on as they managed to pull out a 98-94 win over the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night at FedExForum. The win completed a four-game sweep over the Warriors for the first time in franchise history. Three of the contests have been decided by four points or less. The Grizzlies were led by O.J. Mayo's 19 points off the bench.

QUOTABLE: "They've been kicking out (butt) period, point blank. There's nothing much to put into it. They've been outplaying us in every aspect of the game. We've just got to get better and get ready for the next one." Golden State guard Nate Robinson, who had 18 points for the Warriors.

THE STAT: The Grizzlies shot 23.5 percent in the third quarter and trailed Golden State, 79-70 heading into the fourth quarter. In the final quarter, the Grizzlies regained their shooting touch, making 12 of their 17 shots (70.6 percent) to earn the come-from-behind win.

TURNING POINT: Frustrated that the Warriors were scoring at will with their penetration to the basket, Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins went with a fourth quarter lineup featuring Mayo, Gilbert Arenas, Tony Allen, Dante Cunningham and Marc Gasol, That grouped used a 13-0 run to regain the lead at 87-86. They also held the Warriors scoreless for nearly four minutes.

HOT: At 31.4 percent, the Grizzlies are one of the NBA's worst 3-point shooting teams. But against Golden State, Memphis connected on 9 of 17 from 3-point range (53 percent). Mayo (4 of 6) and Mike Conley (3 of 4) did most of the damage.

NOT: It was an off-night for Grizzlies' starters Rudy Gay, Marreese Speights and Tony Allen. The trio combined to shoot 5-of-27 from the floor, which was good for just 16 points.

QUOTABLE II: "That's the beauty of this team, we have enough guys to go big if we want to and we can go small if we want to. Everyone understands that and that's what allows us to play and win games."
-- Grizzlies forward Cunningham, who came off the bench to score 10 points.

NOTABLE: Grizzlies guard Mike Conley returned from a two-game absence with a sore right ankle to score 18 points. He looked refreshed as he made 7 of his 11 shot attempts and also had five rebounds. ... The Warriors were led by forward David Lee, who had 22 points and 13 rebounds to go with his four assists. ... Grizzlies guard Gilbert Arenas played in his first game at FedExForum with his new teammates. He finished with 10 points, his highest output since joining the team March 20. Arenas also had three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 15 minutes. ... The Grizzlies were playing the second game of their only set of back-to-back-to-back games. They complete the trio Wednesday night at Dallas. ... Golden State has now lost six in a row and 11 of its last 13 since trading away Monte Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown.

UP NEXT: For the Warriors, Wednesday at Minnesota, Friday at Utah, Saturday vs. Denver. For the Grizzlies, Wednesday at Dallas, Friday at Miami, Saturday vs. Dallas.

• Warriors: Bogut, Curry, Wright
• Grizzlies: Arthur

• Warriors: --
• Grizzlies: --

• Lead Changes: 12
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
• Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #33 Zach Zarba, #77 Karl Lane
• Attendance: 14310
• Duration: 2:08