Hawks-Grizzlies Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Dec 08 2012 12:46AM

The Memphis Grizzlies' 13-game win streak over Eastern Conference foes could be put to the test Saturday night.

The Grizzlies will be back home against a surging Atlanta Hawks team that has won eight of nine.

Memphis (14-3) has been nearly unbeatable at home, going 9-1. The Grizzlies last lost to an East team on March 16, a 114-110 overtime defeat to Toronto.

The Hawks (11-5), meanwhile, have had six different players lead them or tie for the team lead in scoring during this 8-1 run. Atlanta has also won nine of its 11 meetings with Memphis, although the Grizzlies won the lone contest last season 96-77 on Feb. 2.

Both teams are known for defense.

Memphis leads the West in limiting opponents to 91.1 points per game and its 43.4 defensive field-goal percentage is one of the league's best marks.

Atlanta is also among the NBA's best teams in those departments, allowing 94.3 points per game and 43.4 percent shooting. The Hawks are the league's only team to not allow an opponent to shoot 50 percent in a game.

Both teams won hard-fought contests Friday night.

Rudy Gay tied a season high with 28 points and Quincy Pondexter matched his season best with 16 in a 96-89 victory at New Orleans. The Grizzlies led by as many as 14 points and held on when the margin got as close as one in the fourth quarter.

"We just toughed it out," Gay said. "This is one of those games that a young team probably wouldn't win, but the fact that we've been around and know how it is, the fact that this is the NBA and everybody has a chance to win, that's what got us over the hump."

Josh Smith had 23 points and 15 rebounds and Al Horford also posted a double-double as the Hawks beat Washington 104-95 at home. Atlanta led by as many as 18 points before its advantage was cut to two in the final period.

"I think when we got the big lead we got a little complacent," coach Larry Drew said. "We have to develop a killer instinct. Tonight, we didn't have it. We didn't do it."

Horford had 14 points and 14 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double. He's averaging 17.8 points and 12.0 rebounds in that span.

For Memphis, Pondexter hit all six of his shots Friday, including four 3-pointers, for his second straight 16-point performance.

"It wasn't I was extra assertive or anything tonight," Pondexter said. "I was just making the right basketball plays."

Gay reached 20 points for the first time in six games Friday.

"He's a good player, we needed him to play his game and that's all we ask," coach Lionel Hollins said. "He's been playing well, but tonight he made his shots and that's exactly what we needed."

A matchup to watch Saturday will be at point guard between Indianapolis natives Jeff Teague for Atlanta and Mike Conley for Memphis.

Teague scored 19 points Friday while Conley's 2.7 steals per game rank him among the league's best.

Hawks guard Kyle Korver will miss his fourth straight game Saturday due to back problems.

Hawks use 3rd-quarter rally to beat Memphis 93-83

By CLAY BAILEY
Posted Dec 08 2012 10:55PM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Josh Smith had 24 points, Lou Williams scored 18 of his 21 in the second half, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 93-83 on Saturday night.

Al Horford had 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Atlanta, which won for the ninth time in its last 10 games. Jeff Teague finished with 13 points and six assists.

Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol scored 18 points apiece, Randolph grabbing 13 rebounds as Memphis lost at home for only the second time this season. Rudy Gay scored 17 points, but was 7 of 25 from the field. Mike Conley finished with 12 points.

The game was close until the middle of the third quarter, when Atlanta erased a five-point deficit 20 unanswered points to build a lead that Memphis could not overcome.

Atlanta shot 44 percent for the game, and held Memphis to 43 percent. Atlanta has not allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent this season.

The Hawks outrebounded Memphis 44-40, including 14 off the offensive glass. Atlanta also outscored the Grizzlies in the paint 42-38.

The difference was in the second half, as Atlanta outscored Memphis 52-36 as Williams and Smith pushed the rally.

Memphis carried a 47-41 into halftime behind Gasol and Randolph, who had 14 and 12 respectively, Randolph also grabbing nine rebounds.

For the most part, the stats were close in the first half, the Memphis advantage coming from going 4 of 7 from outside the arc compared to the Hawks hitting 2 of 6.

Memphis would hold an eight-point lead in the half, while the Hawks managed only a two-point advantage.

Atlanta turned up the defensive pressure to open the second half, leading to a 10-4 run and a tie at 51. Memphis missed six of its eight shots in the early minutes of the third quarter and committed three turnovers to allow Atlanta to pull even.

Atlanta would continue to push the pace, and the Grizzlies were dragging. The Hawks would craft a 20-0 run as Memphis went almost 5 minutes without scoring.

The rally would put Atlanta up by 73-58, Williams connecting on three straight from beyond the arc.

Williams would have 13 points in the third, helping the Hawks outscore Memphis 32-13 in the period, for a 73-60 lead entering the fourth.

That was enough for Atlanta to withstand a Memphis push that got the Grizzlies within six points on at least two occasions in the fourth.

Both times, Smith scored inside, the second time also drawing a foul. That was part of Smith scoring seven straight Atlanta points, and when Williams connected on his fourth 3-pointer of the night, the Hawks had stretched the lead back to double digits.

NOTES: Both teams were playing the second game of a back-to-back. .The game was the nightcap of a doubleheader at the FedExForum. The University of Memphis defeated Austin Peay 83-65 in an afternoon contest. . Hawks G DeShawn Stevenson was available, but did not play for Atlanta because it was the second night of a back-to-back. Meanwhile, G Kyle Korver missed fourth straight game with back spasms. .Memphis had won 20 of its last 21 at home before the loss. .Gay had 17 points, scoring five points in the last minute, marking his 21st consecutive game with at least 14 points.

Notebook: Hawks 93, Grizzlies 83

L. Jason Smith, For NBA.com
Posted Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:47 PM - Updated Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:47 PM

THE FACTS: Josh Smith had 24 points and Lou Williams scored 21 off the bench -- including 13 during a momentum-swinging 20-0 third-quarter scoring run -- to push the visiting Atlanta Hawks past the Memphis Grizzlies 93-83 at FedExForum on Saturday. The Hawks, who got a fifth consecutive double-double from forward Al Horford (19 points, 14 rebounds), handed the Grizzlies just their second home loss in their last 22 games at FedExForum. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol had 18 points apiece for Memphis.

QUOTABLE: "I got off to a slow start. I think I was 1-for-6 at halftime. It was looking like another night where I wasn't going to impact the game. I just went out with a blaze and it worked out in my favor."
-- Hawks' Lou Williams on his 13-point third quarter.

THE STAT: Though Rudy Gay scored 17 points for Memphis (14-4), he did it on 7-for-25 shooting. Take away his off night, and the Grizzlies, who entered Saturday's game with the NBA's best record, shot 50 percent (26-for-52) from the field. Instead, they finished at 42.9 percent (33-for-77) for the game.

TURNING POINT: Memphis led 58-53 after a layup by Gasol when Atlanta (12-5), specifically Williams, caught fire. After Williams' layup pulled the Hawks within one (58-57), Smith gave the Hawks a lead they never relinquished with a 3-pointer. Then Williams went back to work, knocking down three straight 3-pointers during a 20-0 Hawks scoring run. Williams' free throws with 37.7 left in the third quarter gave Atlanta its biggest lead of the night at 73-58.

HOT: Randolph went 8-for-12 from the floor and registered his league-leading 15th double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

NOT: The Hawks' Devin Harris scored just three points in 25 minutes while attempting just two field goals. Though Williams went just 6-for-16 from the field overall, he knocked down 4-for-6 3-pointers, including the third-quarter daggers that buried Memphis.

QUOTABLE II: "It was a lot of factors tonight. We played tired, we thought tired and we only had 15 assists. We didn't share the basketball. We didn't shoot it well or shoot free throws well. We looked like a team that was tired."
-- Memphis coach Lionel Hollins on the Grizzlies, who were playing their second game in as many nights.

NOTABLE: It was the Hawks' third straight win and ninth in their last 10 games. Atlanta still hasn't allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent from the field in a game this year -- the lone team in the NBA to have that distinction. ... The Hawks came into the game tied for the NBA lead in fast-break points at 17.3 per game. They had 15 to Memphis' five on Saturday. ... Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley had three assists. He needs 30 more to pass Jason Williams as the franchise's career leader in assists. ... Williams' 13 third-quarter points matched the Grizzlies entire team output in the third as the Hawks outscored the Grizzlies 32-13 in the period.

UP NEXT: For the Hawks, Monday @ Miami, Wednesday @ Orlando, Thursday vs. Charlotte. For the Grizzlies, Wednesday @ Phoenix, Friday @ Denver, Saturday @Utah.

• Hawks: Scott
• Grizzlies: Wroten

• Hawks: Johnson
• Grizzlies: Gay

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #75 Eric Dalen, #31 Scott Wall
• Attendance: 17612
• Duration: 2:18