Grizzlies-Mavericks Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Apr 04 2012 1:23AM

The busiest stretch of their season seems to have brought out the best in the Memphis Grizzlies.

Trying to win three games in three nights, the visiting Grizzlies look to put some distance between themselves and Dallas in the Western Conference standings with a fourth straight victory over the Mavericks on Wednesday night.

Memphis (30-22) opened a stretch of five games in six days by losing 98-89 at Houston on Friday, but has since won three in a row. One night after winning 94-88 at West-leading Oklahoma City, the Grizzlies overcame a 12-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat Golden State 98-94 at home Tuesday.

O.J. Mayo scored 19 points and Mike Conley added 18 in his first game after missing the previous two with an ankle injury, and Memphis used a late 13-0 run to record its fifth victory in six games.

The Grizzlies are fifth in the West, one game ahead of sixth-place Dallas (30-24).

"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,'" Conley said. "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."

Trying to match a season high with a third consecutive road victory, Memphis also looks to win its third straight at Dallas following a nine-game road skid in the series. Zach Randolph scored 27 points and Conley added 17 with 10 assists during a 104-103 victory over the Mavericks in the teams' most recent meeting at American Airlines Center on March 6, 2011.

Back tightness limited Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki to one point in 10 minutes while Memphis handed the visiting Mavericks a 96-85 loss Feb. 29. Marc Gasol had 22 points with 11 rebounds while Conley added 20 and 10 assists for the Grizzlies' third consecutive victory overall in the series.

If Dallas is to end that skid, it likely must show some improvement after shooting 39.0 percent during a 94-75 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. Nowitzki scored 19 points, but the Mavericks trailed by 14 at halftime en route to posting their third-lowest point total this season.

The Mavericks have dropped four of seven since a four-game winning streak.

"I don't think you can play much worse," coach Rick Carlisle told the Mavericks' official website. "We can't just dismiss it like it's just a bad game. We've got to correct the things that are wrong and bounce back. We've just got to be better."

Dallas played without injured point guard Jason Kidd (groin) and key reserve Lamar Odom (illness) on Monday. While Odom could return for this contest, the 39-year-old Kidd is likely to miss the next three games.

"(Kidd's injury is) something that has been an issue and we've got to get it resolved," Carlisle said.

Nowitzki has totaled eight points in his last two games at Memphis, but he's averaged 25.9 on 54.8 percent shooting in the last 14 home contests against the Grizzlies including playoffs.

These teams meet for the final time in the regular season Saturday night in Memphis.

Nowitzki 23 for Dallas in 95-85 win over Grizzlies

By STEPHEN HAWKINS
Posted Apr 05 2012 12:39AM

DALLAS (AP) Shawn Marion and Jason Terry decided it was time for the Dallas Mavericks to run.

And they went right past the worn-out Memphis Grizzlies in the fourth quarter for a 95-85 victory Wednesday night.

"We concentrated on getting some transition offense. We were able to get out and run," Marion said. "We want to make teams pay for their mistakes."

Marion scored 10 of his 16 points, with Terry setting up some of the baskets and making some of his own, and the Mavericks went ahead to stay with a 21-4 run over a 7-minute span in the fourth quarter. Memphis, playing for the third straight night, made only one of 12 shots in that stretch.

"We ran out of gas," guard Mike Conley said. "In the fourth quarter, we couldn't score, shots weren't falling for us, and they got too many easy looks in transition."

The Grizzlies had a 73-68 lead after Quincy Pondexter's three-point play with 10 minutes left. By time Marion had a breakaway dunk with 3 minutes left, Dallas was in control and avoiding another damaging loss.

It was the first of two games in four days between the teams that are in a virtual tie for fifth place in the Western Conference standings. They play again Saturday in Memphis, a night after both play different teams.

Dallas (31-24) had dropped to sixth place behind Memphis after a 95-74 loss Monday night at home against the fourth-place Los Angeles Clippers. The Mavericks lost two of three in that season series, losing the tiebreaker against the Clippers.

"It was a good bounce-back for us," Terry said. "Obviously we're fighting with all these teams for playoff positioning and this was a crucial game for us, as are all of them."

The Grizzlies (30-23) had won five of six games, including road games against division leaders Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Before playing again in the rubber game of their three-game series, Memphis is at Miami on Friday, when Dallas hosts Portland.

"It's one thing to just play three games in a row, but we just played five in six (days)," coach Lionel Hollins said. "I thought we played well enough to win the game. We were in the game all the way. We kept staying ahead; staying ahead, and then right at the end we kind of just let go of the rope a little bit. And then they got the lead, and then they sustained their run."

Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks. Terry finished with 15 points while Delonte West had 14 on 6-of-7 shooting. Ian Mahinmi grabbed 10 rebounds.

O.J. Mayo had 17 points to lead Memphis, which had balanced scoring as seven players scored at least eight points. Mike Conley had 11 points.

Pondexter moved between Nowitzki and Lamar Odom to grab an offensive rebound and was fouled making the putback shot. He then added the free throw, before Terry's long jumper started the game-turning run and his inbound pass to Marion for a strong layup got the Mavericks within a point.

After Gilbert Arenas came up short on a shot, he fouled Marion on the other end. Marion hit both free throws for a 74-73 lead with 8 minutes left and putting the Mavs ahead to stay.

"They got anything they wanted in the fourth quarter," said Marc Gasol, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis.

Arenas had a shot blocked by Terry, and Nowitzki made two free throws before Marion's layup for a 10-0 Dallas spurt.

Mayo, who scored nine of his points in the fourth quarter, ended that portion of the Dallas run with a driving layup.

The Grizzlies were within 80-77 after two free throws by Mayo. But Nowitzki responded with a 3-pointer and Terry had a steal that led to a layup by Marion

Memphis led 46-36 when Conley made a 21-foot jumper with 3:24 left in the first half before Dallas cut its largest deficit with a 9-1 run.

Odom, back after missing Monday night's game with a stomach illness, made a short turnaround hook shot that finally dropped after rattling around the rim.

West had a pair of long jumpers before blocking a shot that led to a putback layup by Nowitzki to get within 47-45 with a minute left.

After Nowitzki pushed through Mayo while Rudy Gay tried to swat the ball away to make a basket, the Mavericks' All-Star head-butted the ball after it went through the hoop and shouted out in frustration.

Gay hit a 19-foot turnaround in the final second for a 51-47 halftime lead.

"We made them earn everything they got," Gasol said. "We've had a tough stretch and it isn't getting any easier."

NOTES: Memphis G Tony Allen left the game with 5:20 left after taking a hard foul from Brendan Haywood. Allen remained in a heap on the floor, dripping blood and leaving with a towel over his mouth. ... Terry's only 3-pointer was the 1,760th of his career, matching Peja Stojakovic for fifth on the NBA career list. ... Dallas G Jason Kidd (strained right groin) missed the second game in a row, and is expected to miss at least two more games. ... The Grizzlies played the fifth of seven games in nine days.

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Notebook: Mavericks 95, Grizzlies 85

Posted Wednesday April 4, 2012 11:54PM

By Dave Ivey, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Memphis controlled the game through three quarters, but fatigue caught up to the Grizzlies in the fourth quarter Wednesday and so did the Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas to a 95-85 victory with 23 points and 10 rebounds, snapping a three-game winning streak by a Memphis squad playing the final game of a back-to-back-to-back and its fifth game in six nights.

Shawn Marion added 16 points, Jason Terry tallied 15 and Delonte West had 14 for the Mavs (31-24), who had dropped their last three meetings with the Grizzlies (30-23). The teams clash again Saturday in Memphis to decide the season series. O.J. Mayo paced Memphis with 17 points, courtesy of his 4-for-5 shooting from downtown.

QUOTABLE: "We kept staying ahead, staying ahead, and then right at the end we kind of let go of the rope a little bit. They got the lead and sustained their run. They got a little more aggressive offensively and kept attacking the basket, and we just didn't have enough to hold the finger in the dike."
-- Memphis head coach Lionel Hollins.

THE STAT: It was a rare rally for Dallas. This is just the third time the Mavericks have won a game this season when trailing after three quarters (3-20). Memphis led 68-66 entering the fourth. The defending champs were 18-22 in that situation last season.

TURNING POINT: Dallas used a 21-4 run from the 9:39 mark of the fourth quarter through the 3:01 mark to flip a 73-68 deficit into an 89-77 advantage. The Grizzlies' only points in that stretch came on a layup by Mayo and one free throw each from Marc Gasol and Mayo. They were 1-for-12 during the cold snap.

QUOTABLE II: "I think we ran out of gas."
-- Memphis guard Mike Conley.

QUOTABLE III: "Our motto is 'don't even worry about it,' so if something goes wrong out on the floor or somebody is out of the lineup, we just tell ourselves don't even worry about it, just keep playing. That's what has been keeping us in these games and keeping us positive."
-- Terry.

HOT: Starting for the injured Jason Kidd (right groin strain), West finished 6-for-7 and knocked down both of his 3-point attempts in his highest-scoring game since Jan. 30 at Phoenix (25 points).

NOT: The Grizzlies scored just 34 points in the second half on 30 percent shooting (12-for-40). After intermission, Rudy Gay was 0-for-5, Gasol was 1-for-6 and Conley was 1-for-6.

GOOD MOVE: Terry picked of a sloppy pass by Gay and drove to the basket before dishing it behind his back to a trailing Marion for an easy layup and an 85-77 lead.

BAD MOVE: Shortly after missing a wide-open finger roll, things got even more embarrassing for Mavericks forward Lamar Odom when he touched nothing but air on a free-throw misfire with 56.9 seconds left in the third quarter.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Gasol shot just 3-for-13, but still had a nice night for fantasy owners with 10 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four blocked shots. ... Backup center Ian Mahinmi matched his season high with 10 boards for the Mavericks.

NOTABLE: Terry's 3-pointer with 4:59 left in the game was the 1,760th of his career, matching Peja Stojakovic for fifth place in NBA history. ... The Mavericks improved to 5-19 when trailing by 10 or more points this year. They were down 46-36 in the second quarter. ... Memphis guard Tony Allen went to the locker room midway through the fourth quarter with an apparent bloody nose. ... Mayo has led the Grizzlies in scoring in four straight games, the longest streak of his career.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Friday vs. Portland, Saturday @ Memphis, Tuesday vs. Sacramento. For the Grizzlies, Friday @ Miami, Saturday vs. Dallas, Monday vs. L.A. Clippers.

• Grizzlies: Arthur
• Mavericks: Azubuike, Kidd

• Grizzlies: --
• Mavericks: --

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• Officials: #63 Derek Richardson, #10 Ron Garretson, #38 Michael Smith
• Attendance: 20233
• Duration: 2:12