Grizzlies-Timberwolves Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Apr 16 2012 11:32PM

The Memphis Grizzlies probably can't afford any more losses to teams with losing records if they want to earn homecourt advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

They also might not fare well without Marc Gasol.

With their All-Star center likely sidelined Tuesday night, the visiting Grizzlies look to bounce back from a frustrating defeat by trying to continue their recent success against a Minnesota Timberwolves team hoping to avoid an 11th straight loss.

Fifth in the West with six games remaining, Memphis (35-25) has a chance to catch the fourth-place Los Angeles Clippers. However, the Grizzlies didn't help themselves by losing 88-75 at lowly New Orleans on Sunday.

Memphis shot 35.7 percent en route to its third-lowest scoring game of the season and second loss in three contests following a four-game winning streak.

"It was nasty, ugly," said coach Lionel Hollins, whose team committed 21 turnovers that resulted in 28 points. "You can't beat anybody scoring 75 points."

The Grizzlies were held to 19 in the fourth quarter while playing the final 7:02 without Gasol. He had 11 points and seven rebounds before leaving with what turned out to be a bruised knee.

With Gasol averaging career highs of 15.0 points and 9.4 rebounds, Memphis obviously can't afford to lose its big man at the most important time of the season. The only game Gasol has missed in 2011-12 was the Grizzlies' 93-86 home victory over Minnesota on March 27.

Regardless of who is on the floor, Memphis must improve its play in order to make the most of a favorable schedule down the stretch. Five of its final six are against sub-.500 opponents.

"We have to bounce back and work on our next game," guard Tony Allen told the Grizzlies' official website. "The good teams find ways to get over these humps."

Memphis can start at Minnesota, where it's won three in a row. The Grizzlies have won seven straight overall in the series dating to a 109-102 road loss Feb. 6, 2010.

Rudy Gay, who has totaled 50 points on 17-of-33 shooting in the last two games, is averaging 21.8 in his last eight against the Timberwolves.

Though Memphis has won the three meetings this season with Minnesota (25-37) by seven points or fewer, the banged-up Timberwolves are mired in their longest losing streak since dropping the final 15 games of 2010-11.

Playing a third straight game without injured star Kevin Love (mild concussion and neck strain), Minnesota could not overcome a 32-13 first quarter-deficit in Monday's 111-88 loss at Indiana. J.J. Barea had 14 points with nine assists and rookie Derrick Williams added 13 with 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who also are without guards Luke Ridnour (ankle) and Ricky Rubio (knee).

"You have to come out and compete, and we didn't compete," said coach Rick Adelman, whose team has allowed 107.9 points per game during the skid. "It's a glaring problem. We know we have injuries, but we're better than that. We have to be ready to play."

Barea has averaged 14.4 points and 9.3 assists in seven games since missing six in a row with a thigh injury.

Gay, Grizzlies recover to top Timberwolves 91-84

By DAVE CAMPBELL
Posted Apr 18 2012 1:05AM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Memphis Grizzlies are grinding through a tough final month of the season, trying to put themselves in position for another playoff run.

An ugly win in a physical April game sure feels a lot better when it's meaningful. Just ask the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Rudy Gay had 28 points and nine rebounds to help the Grizzlies withstand a weak start to the fourth quarter and hand the Timberwolves their 11th straight loss, 91-84 on Tuesday night.

"We've been through the bottom, being in Minnesota's position, knowing you're not going to be in the playoffs," Gay said. "We don't expect anything to happen. We don't expect to shoot our way out of it just because we're missing. We don't expect to lose. We're fighters."

The Grizzlies, who have eight straight wins over the Wolves, were 1 for 15 from the field in the final quarter until Gay's short jumper gave them the lead back at 82-81. That was 13 seconds after a questioned charging foul was called on Anthony Tolliver that wiped out a layup and a potential three-point play. Tolliver and the Timberwolves were livid.

"That one play changed everything, and you guys know what play I'm talking about," said J.J. Barea, who scored a season-high 28 points on 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range to go with eight assists and five rebounds.

The Wolves have lost 27 straight April games, dating to 2009. They have three more tries this season to stop that streak.

"I'm disappointed for the guys. They played their tails off," said coach Rick Adelman, whose praise has been rare lately.

Zach Randolph added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who moved within two games of the Los Angeles Clippers for fourth place in the Western Conference and crept closer toward clinching a playoff spot. Mike Conley added 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

"They're competitors. They're trying to get somewhere," coach Lionel Hollins said.

Gay added a putback and a dagger of a 3-pointer to make it 87-82, and out of a timeout Barea hoisted an off-target, off-balance 3-pointer that missed the rim. Wayne Ellington's reverse layup brought the Wolves back within three with 1:19 left, but that was as close as they came.

"We needed this win. We knew these teams that we're playing against have nothing to lose," Conley said. "They're giving everything they've got, and we've got to make sure we match their energy every night."

Marc Gasol played after suffering a bone bruise in his left knee the last game but had only four points on 2-for-8 shooting for the Grizzlies, who have won 11 of their last 15 games.

"It's going to be a long playoffs and for us to clinch early would be a lot better for us," Gay said. "We can start sitting guys, maybe, depending on what Coach wants to do, but it would be good to have the option."

The Wolves have no choice.

Barea, the Puerto Rican point guard whose first season in Minnesota has been marred by a slew of injuries after helping the Dallas Mavericks win the NBA championship last summer, is about their only true scorer left on court with Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and Luke Ridnour all out. Including the fateful game against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 9 when Rubio's left knee buckled in the closing seconds, the Wolves are 4-19 in their last 23 games.

Barea flipped a Rubio-like running bank shot high off the glass to close the first half and put the Wolves up 56-55. He has started the last eight games and is averaging 17.2 points and 9.8 assists in his last 10 games. He's 24 for 50 from 3-point range in that span.

"I'm used to playing 20 or 25 minutes max, but I'm enjoying it," Barea said.

The Grizzlies came within two points of their season high for the first quarter, taking a 32-22 lead on O.J. Mayo's off-balance 3-pointer from the corner. This, though, was progress for the Wolves, who fell behind 32-7 at Indiana on Monday during a 111-88 defeat by the Pacers.

Nikola Pekovic had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolves, who went 25 for 30 from the foul line to stay in it. But the Grizzlies played their usual suffocating defense, getting 11 steals and turning 18 Wolves turnovers into 24 points.

"We just gutted it out. That's the best thing you can say," Hollins said.

NOTES: Marreese Speights had 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter for the Grizzlies, who are 33-17 since acquiring him. ... The Wolves are 1-26 in their last 27 April home games, dating to 2006.... Pekovic continues to be bothered by bone spurs in his right ankle, and the team has considered shutting him down for the final week of the season. "He kept telling me he was fine. Hopefully he can hold up in the last three," Adelman said after the game.

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Follow Dave Campbell on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DaveCampbellAP

Notebook: Grizzlies 91, Timberwolves 84

Posted Wednesday April 18, 2012 12:13AM

By Phil Miller, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Rudy Gay scored nine of his 28 points in the final four minutes Tuesday, and the Memphis Grizzlies pulled within 1 1/2 games of the L.A. Clippers for fourth place in the Western Conference by shutting down the free-falling Minnesota Timberwolves, 91-84 at Target Center in Minneapolis.

Minnesota lost its eighth straight meeting with Memphis, its 11th consecutive game overall, and its 27th April game in a row, a skid dating back more than three years. Memphis, meanwhile, gritted its way through its 11th victory in its last 15 games, putting the Grizzlies in contention for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Grizzlies, who received 16 points and eight assists from guard Mike Conley and 16 points and 11 rebounds from forward Zach Randolph, won despite a 1-of-15 fourth-quarter skid that allowed Minnesota to close a 10-point gap and take the lead. But Gay took control at the end, while Memphis' defense shut down a Minnesota offense missing Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and Luke Ridnour. The Grizzlies allowed just 28 points in the second half, and held Minnesota below 90 points for the seventh time in its eight straight victories over the Wolves.

J.J. Barea, who made 7-of-9 first-half shots, finished with 28 points, one off his career high, and eight assists, while center Nikola Pekovic added 16 points and 11 rebounds, six of them offensive.

QUOTABLE: "We don't have any trouble finding shots. We just have some problems making them sometimes."
-- Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo, on Memphis' 1-of-15 start to the fourth quarter that allowed the Timberwolves to take a brief one-point lead.

THE STAT: 13.3 -- Minnesota's shooting percentage (2-of-15) by starters Anthony Randolph, Martell Webster and Wesley Johnson. The Wolves' bench wasn't much better, making 8-of-26 shots (30.8 percent).

TURNING POINT: Minnesota rallied from a 10-point deficit to take an 81-80 lead with 5:40 to play, but the Wolves' offense self-destructed as players tried to do too much. An offensive foul by Anthony Tolliver, which drew loud, angry complaints from the Wolves, started the crumbling. Minnesota converted its final 10 possessions into just three points, while committing five turnovers, two apiece by J.J. Barea and Anthony Tolliver, who each missed two long 3-pointers down the stretch as well. Memphis outscored Minnesota 11-3 after the Wolves' brief lead.

QUOTABLE II: "I told our players at halftime, [J.J.] Barea is the reason Dallas won the championship last year. He tried to carry [Minnesota] tonight."
-- Memphis coach Lionel Hollins, on the Wolves' point guard, who scored 19 points in the first half and finished with 28.

HOT: Memphis forward Rudy Gay has scored 20 or more points in five of the Grizzlies' last seven games, averaging 24.3 points on 55.6 percent shooting in that span. The Grizzlies are now 21-9 when Gay scores 20 or more.

NOT: Minnesota's offense without Love. The Timberwolves once averaged more than 100 points per game, but that has dipped to 98.1 now, and Minnesota has failed to score 90 points in three of the four games that Love has missed with a concussion suffered April 11.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Beware Anthony Randolph when he's in the starting lineup. The Minnesota forward averaged 22 points in the three games before he was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time Monday. He went 1-of-7 from the field in his debut as Love's understudy, then followed it up with a 1-for-8 fizzle against Memphis.

GOOD MOVE: With 3:50 remaining and his team trailing by a point after a horrid 1-of-15 shooting spell, Memphis coach Hollins calmed his team with a surprising message: Don't change anything. The Grizzlies were taking good shots, he said, and they would eventually fall. They did; after the timeout, Rudy Gay hit a six-foot jumper, a put-back at the rim, and a wide open 3-pointer, opening a five-point lead that Memphis didn't surrender again.

BAD MOVE: After halftime, when Memphis decided to anchor a big man in the paint to ward off J.J. Barea's headlong drives to the basket, the Wolves guard kept trying to attack the basket himself on nearly every possession, despite the added defense. The result: Barea made 3-of-11 shots, committed three turnovers -- including twice dribbling the ball off his foot in the final two minutes -- and found little offensive help.

ROOKIE WATCH: Derrick Williams, the second player selected in last June's draft, appears exhausted as his rookie year comes to a close, and his play reflects it. Williams missed all three of his shots Tuesday, and is 4-of-29 (13.8 percent) from the field over his last four games.

NOTABLE: Wolves' All-Star forward Love was not at Target Center, missing his fourth straight game with a concussion. Ridnourr missed his eighth game with a sprained ankle, though Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said the veteran point guard could return for Sunday's game against Golden State. ... An MRI taken Monday showed no ligament damage in Memphis center Marc Gasol's left knee, just a bone bruise, and the Spaniard decided to return to action despite some minor pain. His opposition, Minnesota center Nikola Pekovic is also playing in pain, with bone spurs in his right foot. Pekovic said before the game he intends to finish the season, but will undergo surgery to remove the spurs at season's end. Pekovic needs six more baskets to qualify for ranking among the league leaders in field-goal percentage; at .562, he would currently rank fourth in the NBA. If he qualifies, Pekovic will break Kevin Garnett's franchise record of .526, set in 2005-06. ... With five points, Memphis guard O.J. Mayo failed to reach double figures for just the second time in 13 games.

UP NEXT: For the Grizzlies, Wednesday vs. Hornets, Friday @ Charlotte, Saturday vs. Trail Blazers. For the Timberwolves, Thursday @ Detroit, Sunday vs. Warriors, April 26 vs. Nuggets.

• Grizzlies: Arthur
• Timberwolves: Ridnour, Rubio

• Grizzlies: --
• Timberwolves: --

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #18 Matt Boland, #60 James Williams
• Attendance: 16709
• Duration: 2:09