Grizzlies-Bobcats Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Nov 17 2012 2:31AM

Any notions that the Memphis Grizzlies' hot start is a fluke likely have been dispelled over the past week.

After a stretch of marquee victories, streaking Memphis visits a surprising Charlotte Bobcats team seeking a fourth consecutive victory Saturday night.

The Grizzlies (7-1) dropped their opener to the Los Angeles Clippers on Halloween night, but they've since rattled off seven straight wins with the majority coming against quality foes.

Memphis' victims include last season's NBA finals participants after it routed Miami 104-86 on Sunday before knocking off Oklahoma City 107-97 on Wednesday.

The Grizzlies then defeated previously unbeaten New York 105-95 on Friday behind a game-high 24 points from Marc Gasol and 20 points and 15 rebounds from Zach Randolph.

Rudy Gay added 17 points while Mike Conley finished with 16 and eight assists.

"I think we are playing well right now, obviously," Conley said. "We have played some very good teams in the past week. (We) are just going to try and keep it going."

Memphis, which has five wins by double digits, is on the verge of its first eight-game winning streak since Jan. 11-25, 2004, before it went on to set a franchise record with 50 victories.

"The confidence is something that we have always had," Gay said. "I don't think it is (any) different as what we always have been. We are just playing basketball. We are getting better, that's all it is.

"We are just doing it at a higher level."

Randolph has averaged 20.4 points in his career versus Charlotte, but the Grizzlies had lost five of the previous six meetings before Conley's 20 points helped Memphis rally from 13 down for an 85-80 road victory April 20.

The Bobcats (4-3) look to cool off the Grizzlies by staying hot in their own right. Kemba Walker hit a jumper with 0.7 seconds remaining in an 89-87 win over Minnesota on Wednesday - saving Charlotte after it blew a 16-point lead.

Walker finished with a team-high 22 points and Byron Mullens added 12 and 15 rebounds.

Ramon Sessions scored 18 points off the bench and is averaging 16.3 - second to Walker's team-best 19.0 - despite not starting a game.

"It's a lot better learning in a win, I can tell you that much," Walker said. "But it's very important. There's going to be more games when we have that same situation. We've got to learn to take care of the basketball, make the right plays when we're up big."

Walker could certainly learn from April's loss to the Grizzlies. He had a career-high seven turnovers, missing 10 of 15 shots.

First-year coach Mike Dunlap has worked the team hard through the preseason and into the regular season, getting results not seen last season with the team on the verge of a four-game winning streak.

The Bobcats won four of their final 37 games of 2011-12.

"It's because the guys have bought the message and they've worked hard on the wood," Dunlap said. "We've had some long practices and we've heard some squawking on that. Hopefully the volume gets turned down on that a little bit because they can see the benefit."

Streaking Grizzlies beat Bobcats 94-87

Posted Nov 18 2012 12:34AM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Mike Conley scored 20 points and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Charlotte Bobcats 94-87 on Saturday night for their eighth consecutive victory.

Zach Randolph added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and three other players scored in double figures for the Grizzlies, who own the NBA's best record at 8-1. Rudy Gay had 16 points and Marc Gasol and Tony Allen scored 12 apiece.

Memphis led by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Byron Mullens scored 18 points and Kemba Walker added 17 for the Bobcats, who cut the Grizzlies' lead to five points three times in the final period, the last at 92-87 on Bismack Biyombo's dunk with 13 seconds remaining.

Charlotte had won three straight.

Memphis, which ended the New York Knicks' undefeated run on Friday night, increased a nine-point halftime lead to 77-60 on Randolph's layup with 10:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.

But Walker scored 11 consecutive points over the next 3 1/2 minutes to get the Bobcats back in the game. His layup with 6:54 left got Charlotte within six at 77-71.

Despite their own shooting problems - 38.8 percent from the field - the Grizzlies ran the lead back out to double digits again, with Quincy Poindexter's layup with 2:39 left making it 88-77. But Ramon Sessions hit a pair of layups and rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist followed with a basket to cut Memphis' lead to 88-83 with 47 seconds remaining.

Charlotte pulled within five points twice more in the final 30 seconds, but couldn't complete the comeback.

Memphis opened a 47-31 lead on Allen's jumper with 1:02 left in the second quarter.

The Bobcats then closed out the first half with a 7-0 run. Mullens had a three-point play, Ben Gordon drove for a layup off a steal and Walker hit a pair of free throws.

Charlotte had a chance to extend the second-quarter run but Mullens missed a long 3-pointer off a steal at the buzzer.

NOTES: Gordon returned after missing the last two games for what team officials said were "personal reasons." He was 4 for 10 from the field and finished with 10 points. He did not score in the final two quarters. ... F Hakim Warrick, acquired in a trade with New Orleans for G Matt Carroll, made his debut with the Bobcats. He came into the game late in the third quarter, and finished with five points and four rebounds in just under 10 minutes. ... The Grizzlies' win over Charlotte was their last road game for nearly two weeks. Memphis will play its next five games at home, beginning Monday against the Denver Nuggets.

Notebook: Grizzlies 94, Bobcats 87

Derek S. Smith, For NBA.com
Posted Sat Nov 17, 2012 11:59 PM - Updated Sat Nov 17, 2012 11:59 PM

THE FACTS: Mike Conley scored a game-high 20 points and Zach Randolph added 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies picked up a 94-87 win over the Charlotte Bobcats Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. Byron Mullens paced the Bobcats with team bests of 18 points and nine rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "I think these last two games have really distinguished what kind of personality this team has right now -- how we treat this game and how we respect the game. Guys got their rest and were prepared to go for tonight's game. That can be tough on a lot of teams out there and I think we handled it well. We're really playing together as a team."

--Memphis guard Mike Conley

THE STAT: The Charlotte Bobcats committed 18 turnovers Saturday night which Memphis was able to convert into 25 points. The Grizzlies have forced at least 10 turnovers in 113 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NBA -- more than twice the games of the second-longest active streak (Miami, 52). Charlotte came in averaging 13 turnovers per game and causing its opponent to average more than 16 per night.

TURNING POINT: Conley hit a 3 with 3:29 to play in the game to squelch one of the Bobcats late runs. Charlotte had been cutting into the lead midway through the fourth when Conley hit a 32-footer as the shot clock expired. The Bobcats had almost forced a steal, but Marc Gasol picked up the deflected pass in the back court and got it to Conley who calmly sank the shot and the Bobcats hopes.

QUOTABLE II: "That's the thing about this team, everybody is sacrificing. I think everybody could do more, but we're doing what we need to do. And in turn, we're passing, we're rebounding, we're helping each other out and using our energy in other ways and that's why we've been so successful early on."

--Memphis forward Rudy Gay

HOT: Randolph has recorded a double-double in all nine games this season. He is averaging 17.2 points and 13.9 rebounds. He currently leads the NBA in both total rebounding and offensive rebounding. Randolph is shooting 48 percent on the season from the floor and 81 percent from the charity stripe.

NOT: Tyrus Thomas came off the bench for Charlotte and was 0-for-6 from the floor with two fouls and left the game in the third quarter with a strained left calf. His status for Monday's game is unknown at this time.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Robert Johnson, the original owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, was in attendance at Saturday's game.

ROOKIE WATCH: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds, posting his fifth double-figure scoring game this season. Over the last five games, he is averaging 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds.

NOTABLE: Hakim Warrick made his Bobcats debut Saturday with a five-point, four-rebound performance in 10 minutes of action. ... Kemba Walker scored 17 points and dished out a season-best eight assists. Walker has scored in double figures in each of the team's eight games. ... Ramon Sessions netted 12 points for Charlotte and has also scored in double figures in each of the eight games this season. ... Ben Gordon came off the bench to score 10 points after being sidelined due to a family emergency the previous two games. ... All five Memphis starters finished the game in double figures while their bench contributed just 16 points in the victory. ... Conley's 20-point performance was his second game of 20 or more this season. ...Tony Allen had a season-high 12 points. ... Jerryd Bayless recorded a career high with three blocked shots. ... The eight straight wins by Memphis, which holds the NBA's best record at 8-1, tied a franchise record for consecutive victories with the 2003-04 squad which went on to win a franchise record 50 games.

UP NEXT: For the Grizzlies: Monday vs. Denver, Friday vs. Lakers, Monday vs. Cleveland. For the Bobcats: Monday vs. Milwaukee, Wednesday vs. Toronto, Friday vs. Atlanta.

• Grizzlies: Wroten
• Bobcats: Henderson

• Grizzlies: Allen
• Bobcats: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #8 Marc Davis, #11 Derrick Collins, #52 Scott Twardoski
• Attendance: 16541
• Duration: 2:28