Mavericks-Grizzlies Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Dec 21 2012 1:49AM

O.J. Mayo had an up-and-down four-season tenure with the Memphis Grizzlies as his offensive numbers dipped over the final two.

Though he's seemed rejuvenated as the leading scorer for the Dallas Mavericks, former teammate Tony Allen seems prepared for the challenge of slowing him down.

Mayo makes his return to Memphis looking to help Dallas avoid a fifth loss in six games Friday night against the Grizzlies, winners of three straight.

After averaging only 11.9 points and shooting 40.7 percent over the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons and coming exclusively off the bench in his last with Memphis, Mayo signed a two-year contract with the Mavericks in July.

He's been Dallas' top scoring option with Dirk Nowitzki recovering from knee surgery averaging 20.2 points - including a career high-tying 40 in a win over Houston on Dec. 8 - while starting all 26 games.

Mayo, though, is coming off one of his worst performances for the struggling Mavericks (12-14), going 3 for 14 from the field and finishing with eight points in Thursday's 110-95 loss to Miami.

Dallas, which shot just 38.5 percent and played the first of at least three games without Derek Fisher, has lost four of five and ranks 27th giving up 101.8 points per game.

"They were making tough shots when we weren't, then we had more poor breakdowns as the game went on," coach Rick Carlisle said. "It was very disappointing how we played, but we'll have to forget it quickly because we have another tough one (in Memphis)."

Though Mayo is leading the league hitting 50.0 percent from 3-point range and is having a breakout season so far, his former team is enjoying much more success.

The Grizzlies (17-6) will be seeking a fourth consecutive win after holding Milwaukee to a season low for points in a 90-80 win Wednesday. Zach Randolph recorded his NBA-leading 19th double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds, while Marc Gasol added 12 and 12.

Allen shot only 3 for 11 and scored eight points, but his season-high four steals highlighted a solid defensive effort as he helped hold Bucks high-scoring guard Monta Ellis to 1-of-14 shooting.

Memphis ranks first in the league allowing 89.5 points per game.

"That's where we lay our hat at is on the defensive end," Allen said. "Ever since I got here, that's been our motto, holding it down on the defensive end, playing in and out basketball. Whenever we do that, I think we are more effective."

Mike Conley scored 11 points and handed out six assists Wednesday and said Allen has been a part of the Grizzlies' stingy defense.

"That's a game-changer to have a guy who can do that," Conley said. "To take a guy (like Ellis), who is so good, out of game offensively is unbelievable. As long he can do that, he is able to be a game-changer for us."

Memphis has won four of the last five meetings with Dallas, including a 94-89 victory April 7 despite Mayo going 1 for 8 from the field. Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies with 25 points in that contest.

Gay, Randolph lead Grizzlies past Mavs, 92-82

By CLAY BAILEY
Posted Dec 22 2012 12:27AM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Tony Allen is solidifying his reputation one of the NBA's premier perimeter defenders.

Former teammate O.J. Mayo already knew that, but got a firsthand look at what Allen can do to a team's leading scorer in the Memphis Grizzlies' 92-82 victory over Dallas on Friday night.

Mayo, who entered the game averaging 20.2 points, managed only a free throw in the first half, ended the night shooting 3 of 11 from the field and scored 10 points. Wednesday night, Allen held Milwaukee scoring leader Monta Ellis to a single field goal on 14 attempts.

"I treat it as a regular opponent as if he was a Kobe or a LeBron or what have you," Allen said about mindset against Mayo. "I just treated it regular and studied him. ... I sat here quiet. Didn't really talk to my teammates before the game. I was just focused at doing the task at hand because he'd been on fire."

Rudy Gay scored 26 points, and Zach Randolph had 17 points and 13 rebounds to help the Grizzlies win their fourth straight game. Marc Gasol added 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Allen finished with 10 points.

Mike Conley had 11 assists to become the franchise leader with 2,079. He surpassed Jason Williams, who had 2,069, with 7:54 left in the first quarter on an alley-oop pass to Gay.

Shawn Marion and Vince Carter led the Mavericks with 14 points apiece, and Marion also had 11 rebounds. Dominique Jones had 13 points and seven assists, and Brandan Wright added 12 points.

Mayo, who played his first four years for the Grizzlies before signing with Dallas in the offseason, was the focus of the Grizzlies defensive approach. Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said the game plan was to make sure Allen had Mayo throughout. Hollins said he didn't want Mayo to get on track to help carry the Mavericks, and to accomplish that, Allen went out every time Mayo rested, and returned with the Mavericks leading scorer. The result was Allen playing a season-high 38 minutes.

"I told Tony: `You're going to guard him whenever he is in the game,"' Hollins recounted. "O.J. is a big catalyst of that team. He's their leading scorer. They go around him to get in the flow, which allows the other guys to get in the flow. .They had some other people score, but it wasn't the same as when he is playing."

Dallas never led, and Memphis built a 17-point advantage in the third quarter.

The Mavericks suffered through 24 turnovers leading to 29 Memphis points, and the Grizzlies' 17 offensive rebounds contributed to a 22-9 advantage in second-chance points. Part of that could have been the result of Dallas playing the second night of a back-to-back after losing to Miami on Thursday, and the injuries that the Mavericks are suffering.

"I was very pleased," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said about his team's play. "We were undermanned, coming off of a late night back-to-back. The guys really hung in and gave what they could give. I was really happy with how everybody fought. There's not much consolation when you lose, but the effort was good."

Memphis, which led by a dozen in the first half, dealt with a Dallas rally that cut the Grizzlies' advantage to 40-39 at intermission. Gay had 10 for Memphis, while Carter had nine points for Dallas.

Mayo missed all four of his shots in the half as Allen clamped on the defense. Mayo managed only a free throw in the closing seconds of the half. He said it wasn't just Allen, but the way the Grizzlies were helping on defense, concentrating on him.

"It was not intimidating," Mayo said of the defense and returning to Memphis. "It was just a little different obviously. They know my tendencies. It was pretty much O.J. was not getting anything, and (we) had to get other guys to make some plays."

Neither team shot particularly well in the first half - Dallas connecting on 34 percent, while Memphis was shooting at a 38 percent clip. Memphis missed all five of its shots from beyond the arc, and Dallas was stymied by 13 turnovers, while the Grizzlies had eight miscues.

Both teams would end the night shooting just better than 40 percent.

Mayo eventually hit his first field goal with 4:26 left in the third. Dallas had tied it at 49 with just over 9 minutes left in the third, but Memphis responded with 14 straight points, grabbing the first double-digit lead of the game.

The lead eventually would reach 17 and Memphis carried a 69-57 advantage into the fourth.

Dallas pushed its offense, again with the reserves helping bring the energy to open the final frame. It translated to a 14-2 run spanning the third and fourth periods as the Mavericks went with a smaller lineup in hope of offsetting the Grizzlies inside presence.

"We just couldn't get over the hump," Marion said. "We were out there scratching and clawing, climbing he hill, but we couldn't get over. Sometimes it happens like that."

The Mavericks kept pushing their offense spreading out the scoring to pull to 76-73 near the midway point of the fourth.

Gay and Randolph converted a pair of 3-point plays to stretch the lead back to 82-73. Then a dunk by Gay took the lead to double digits.

The Mavericks would pull within five points, but could get no closer the rest of the way, losing their fifth in the last six.

As for his defensive effort, Allen said with the rest of the Grizzlies starters, it's his niche in the Memphis lineup.

"You've got to look at it like this: sitting next to Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, they're going to fill up the scoring," Allen said. "I've just got to be that glue guy who (does) the intangibles. Who do the things that are not expected from those guys. That's my role, and I want to fulfill it to the best of the ability I can."

NOTES: Mayo was not the only returning former Grizzly returning to Memphis. Like Mayo, Mavs F Dahntay Jones played his first four years in the league for the Grizzlies. ... Brandan Wright, who missed Thursday's game against Miami with a sprained right ankle, returned to action against Memphis. Elton Brand missed his third straight game with a right groin strain for Dallas. ... Dallas' Darren Collison left the game with an "illness" according the injury report. He didn't return.

Notebook: Grizzlies 92, Mavericks 82

Marlon W. Morgan, for NBA.com
Posted Sat Dec 22, 2012 12:12 AM - Updated Sat Dec 22, 2012 12:12 AM

THE FACTS: The Grizzlies were looking forward to welcoming former teammate O.J. Mayo and the Dallas Mavericks to FedExForum Friday night. But they had no intentions on being gracious hosts in their reunion. Defensive wizard Tony Allen made sure that Mayo's welcome would be a rude one, holding the hot-shooting guard to just 10 points, 10 below his average, on 3 of 10 shooting as the Grizzlies won their fourth straight game, 92-82. Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies with a game-high 26 points.

QUOTABLE: ""I treated it as a regular opponent, whether he was a Kobe (Bryant) or LeBron (James) or what have you. I studied him. I had maybe 15 minutes worth of film on his last three games of all his buckets. I watched that. I sat here quiet and didn't really talk to my teammates. I was just focused on doing the task at hand."
-- Grizzlies guard Tony Allen on guarding O.J. Mayo.

THE STAT: The Grizzlies completed their three-game homestand with a perfect record, which is due to some outstanding defense. They showed by they lead the NBA in opponents scoring, holding Chicago, Milwaukee and Dallas to a combined 77.8 points per game.

TURNING POINT: Dallas trailed throughout the night, but was trailing just 88-82 with 1:42 left in the game. But the Grizzlies got two big offensive rebounds by center Marc Gasol. Then, after the second one, he nailed a jumper from the top of the key that put his team up 90-82 with 41 seconds left.

HOT: Gay broke out of brief scoring slump. He had averaged just 13 points in his last three games before dropping in 26 on the Mavericks. Gay was just two points shy of tying his season high.

NOT: While the Grizzlies defense has allowed them to continue their winning ways, their offense continues to struggle. During their homestand, they averaged just 87 points a game. Against the Mavs, they shot poorly again, this time 40 percent.

QUOTABLE; "I was very pleased. We were undermanned, coming off of a late night back-to-back. The guys really hung in and gave what they could give. I was really happy with how everybody fought. There's not much consolation when you lose, but the effort was good."
-- Dallas coach Rick Carlisle.

GOOD MOVE: Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said he went into the game planning to play Allen whenever Mayo was in the game. The result was Allen playing a season-high 35 minutes, which never allowed Mayo to get into an offensive rhythm.

NOTABLE: Point guard Mike Conley's 11 assists Friday night helped him become the team's career leader. Conley surpassed Jason Williams and now has 2,079 career assists. ... Gasol picked up his second straight double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. But he's a long ways away from teammate Zach Randolph, who had his NBA-leading 20th double-double with 17 points and 13 boards. ... Dallas entered the game ranked third in the league in points off turnovers with 19. Against the Grizzlies, they turned 16 Memphis turnovers into 29 points. ... Dallas point guard Darren Collison left the game in the second half with an illness. ... The Mavs will enter Christmas under .500 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season, which is the last time they failed to make the playoffs.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Sunday at San Antonio, Thursday at Oklahoma City, Friday vs. Denver. For the Grizzlies, Saturday at Houston, Wednesday vs. Philadelphia, Saturday vs. Denver.

• Mavericks: Cunningham, Fisher, Nowitzki
• Grizzlies: Selby

• Mavericks: Jones
• Grizzlies: Ellington, Hollins, Pondexter

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
• Officials: #15 Bennett Salvatore, #59 Gary Zielinski, #74 Curtis Blair
• Attendance: 17677
• Duration: 2:17