Nuggets-Grizzlies Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON
Posted Dec 29 2012 2:02AM

The Memphis Grizzlies' normally elite defense has fallen into a lull of late, costing them back-to-back losses in the process.

Memphis will need a return to its stout form Saturday night as it plays host to a Denver Nuggets team that is shooting extremely well and looking to beat the Grizzlies for the third time this season.

The Grizzlies (18-8) were 14-3 before losing five of their last nine, but the last two results have been especially glaring. They still rank near the top of the league in points allowed per game (90.8) and field-goal percentage defense (43.5), but they haven't looked like it in two straight defeats.

Memphis had no answer for Houston's high-scoring attack last Saturday, losing 121-96 - allowing 20 more points than its previous high by the Clippers in the season opener, with those being the only two times the Grizzlies have surrendered 100 this season.

Philadelphia nearly made it happen again Wednesday, shooting 52.1 percent in a 99-89 victory in Memphis.

"We just had no energy," said Zach Randolph, who leads Memphis in rebounding at 12.6 per game and is second with 17.1 points per game.

"We played hard, but couldn't run anymore. We didn't get stops. They had open jump shots all night. It's a combination of them playing well and taking advantage of us."

The Grizzlies were outscored on the fast break by a combined 49-5 in the last two games, and the Rockets and 76ers combined to go 21 of 44 (47.7 percent) from 3-point range.

That could mean trouble against Denver. The Nuggets (17-14) have won three of four, including two in a row in which they hit a season-best 12 3-pointers each time. They had made more than seven from beyond the arc only five times in their first 29 games.

The Nuggets averaged 116.0 points in those two victories, with Danilo Gallinari posting a career-high 39 points and hitting 7 of 11 from 3-point range in Friday's 106-85 win at Dallas.

Denver is shooting 35.9 percent from long range in its wins compared to 30.5 percent in its losses.

"When we make shots, I think we're pretty good," coach George Karl said.

Memphis didn't make shots against Philadelphia on Wednesday, hitting 38.9 percent from the field. The Grizzlies have made 7 of 28 3-point attempts in their last two games, but coach Lionel Hollins is more concerned about something else.

"It's effort. It's effort on defense, and it's effort on offense," Hollins said. "We get the ball, we have to run up the court with some pace. We have to move the ball quickly. We've got too much ball sticking. We have too much walking."

The return of leading scorer Rudy Gay (18.2 ppg) after a one-game absence should help. Gay intended to play Wednesday after spending time in Baltimore with his ill grandmother, but couldn't make it to Memphis because of weather-related flight delays.

He has averaged 21.5 points in two games against the Nuggets this season, but Denver won both - including a 97-92 victory in Memphis on Nov. 19 to snap the Grizzlies' eight-game winning streak.

Andre Iguodala scored a team-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting in Denver's 99-94 home win over Memphis on Dec. 14.

Gay has19 points, leads Memphis past Denver 81-72

By CLAY BAILEY
Posted Dec 30 2012 12:19AM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Rudy Gay re-entered a close game with about five minutes left and ended the Denver Nuggets' hopes of earning a win on the second night of back-to-back games.

Gay scored eight of his 19 points down the stretch and Memphis' rested starters pulled away for an 81-72 victory on Saturday night.

"His work was definitely showing tonight," Memphis guard Tony Allen said of Gay. "He carried us down the stretch. He made the big boy baskets down the stretch."

Gay's rush was part of 10 straight points for Memphis, breaking open a 68-68 game with 4:45 left. His 18-footer on the baseline with 1:25 left gave Memphis a 10-point lead, helping the Grizzlies snap a two-game losing streak.

Zach Randolph had 12 points for Memphis, which won despite shooting 40 percent. The Grizzlies outscored the Nuggets 28-15 in the fourth, eventually building the lead to 11 points.

Andre Iguodala, Corey Brewer and JaVale McGee each had 12 points for Denver, which had its two-game winning streak end. Kenneth Faried had 11 points for the Nuggets, hitting 5 of 7 shots.

Danilo Gallinari, coming off a career-high 39 points Friday night against Dallas, was held to 7 points on 2-of-8 shooting.

"We just ran out of gas, and ran out of bodies," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "We didn't have anybody really playing a great game. We worked them as hard as we could. The fight was good, but then with the fourth quarter and turnovers, it just broke our hearts."

The back-to-back games and good play by Memphis' bench in the fourth quarter combined to pose problems for Denver in the closing minutes.

"They had more energy than us in the fourth quarter," Brewer said. "Their bench came in and played great for them. ...We are on the fourth (game) in five nights. It is tough."

The game was tied at 68 when Gay took over. He scored on a pair of layups, the second coming on a feed from Randolph. He hit a 12-foot fadeaway before Randolph scored inside.

Gay capped the 10-0 stretch with an 18-foot baseline jumper for a 78-68 lead with 1:25 left.

"Rudy was great. He went in the game for us and made big shots," reserve guard Jerryd Bayless said. "That is what Rudy is supposed to do. He is our guy, and we have to ride him as far as he can go."

Wayne Ellington's 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining gave Memphis its largest lead, 81-70.

While the fourth-quarter rally fueled by Gay put the Grizzlies past the Nuggets down the stretch, a major component was Memphis' second unit playing extended minutes in the final period, staying close to the Nuggets. That helped the Memphis starters stay on the bench until coach Lionel Hollins sent Gay, then Randolph and point guard Mike Conley, back into the game on either side of the 5-minute mark.

"I was fresh, because of the second group playing so well, and I could go out there and be in attack mode," Gay said.

Denver scored 48 points in the paint, while holding the Grizzlies to a season-low 30 points, but neither team shot well from 3-point range with Denver hitting 3 of 16, while Memphis managed 5 of 19.

Memphis held a seven-point lead in the first half, but needed a jumper from Bayless in the final second to hold a 37-36 advantage entering the locker room.

McGee gave the Nuggets their first lead of the game on a dunk with 8.1 seconds left in the half.

Gay led Memphis with 10 points at the break, but the game was rather sloppy as Memphis shot 39.5 percent from the field, compared to 45 percent for Denver. The two teams were a combined 3 of 15 from outside the arc.

No Denver players were in double figures at the half, and Gallinari, who had hit 14 of 23 against Dallas, was scoreless, missing all three of his shots.

That slump ended immediately at the start of the second half as Gallinari connected on a 3-pointer, but he would not score his other field goal until the closing seconds.

The game settled into a close affair after halftime with seven lead changes and five ties in the third quarter.

The night ended with 12 lead changes and nine ties.

With some expecting the Grizzlies and Nuggets to be jockeying for playoff positioning at the end of the season, the win was important for Memphis. Denver had won the two previous meetings this season and a third would have given the Nuggets the potential tiebreaker.

"It was just important to get a win," Hollins said when asked about losing three to the Nuggets. "I don't think (Denver) specifically mattered, they just happened to be the opponent. We had lost two in a row, and we needed to get back to playing our game."

NOTES: Gay returned after missing Memphis' last game on Wednesday with flight problems getting back to Memphis after the Christmas holiday. ... The Grizzlies play five of their next six games on the road. ... Memphis G/F Quincy Pondexter was carried off with an apparent knee injury late in the third quarter. He did not return. ... Even with the loss, Denver has won 14 of the last 20 in the series. ... Denver is now 13-3 when holding opponents under 100. .Marreese Speights led Memphis with 10 rebounds, including six off the offensive glass, the first time this season he has led the Grizzlies in rebounds.

Notebook: Grizzlies 81, Nuggets 72

Marlon W. Morgan, for NBA.com
Posted Sat Dec 29, 2012 11:47 PM - Updated Sat Dec 29, 2012 11:47 PM

THE FACTS: The Grizzlies offense was struggling as it has for the better part of December, including forward Rudy Gay, who had missed 10 of 14 shots. But when the Grizzlies needed their leading scorer the most, he delivered. Gay made his last four shots and came up with a steal that keyed a 10-0 run late in the fourth quarter to give the Grizzlies an 81-72 victory over the Denver Nuggets Friday night at FedExForum. He finished with a game-high 19 points. It's the Grizzlies first win in three tries against Denver this season.

QUOTABLE: "His worth was definitely shown today. He carried us down the stretch and made big boy baskets down the stretch. It's a great team win. Hopefully, we can take some of these things and carry it over into the next game."
-- Grizzlies guard Tony Allen on Gay.

THE STAT: Through three quarters, the Grizzlies offense was abysmal. They were shooting 34.8 percent from the floor after a 27 percent third quarter. But led by their bench, the Grizzlies shot 60 percent in the final quarter in which they outscored Denver, 28-15.

TURNING POINT: Grizzlies' coach Lionel Hollins had gone almost exclusively with his bench in the final period, which erased a 57-53 deficit to start the fourth and had taken a 64-62 lead on a Darrell Arthur jumper with 7:24 to play. Hollins, however, turned to his closer, Gay, down the stretch and he delivered in a big way with three straight baskets during that 10-0 run.

HOT: Denver did dominate Memphis at its own game -- points in the paint. The Nuggets outscored the Grizzlies in that department, 48-30, mainly because they held center Marc Gasol to just six points and Zach Randolph to 12. It was a season-low for the Grizzlies.

NOT: Denver forward Danilo Gallinari was coming off a 39-point game at Dallas Friday night. Allen of the Grizzlies was well aware of that and vowed not to let it happen again. As usual, he delivered, holding Gallinari to just seven points, nine below his average, on 2 of 8 shooting.

QUOTABLE II: "We need to get excited about January. This has been whatever word you want to use -- treacherous, difficult, fatiguing -- but we're done and we have a great month of January. We have to get better. We have to improve and get more confidence, protect the home court and see who we can become."
-- Denver coach George Karl after playing 21 of 31 road games to start the season.

NOTABLE: Memphis forward Quincy Pondexter was diagnosed with a sprained left MCL. Teammate Wayne Ellington bumped knees with Pondexter while charging in on a missed free throw by Denver's JaVale McGee with 3.1 seconds left in the third quarter. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Sunday. ... How bad was the offense in this game→ The Grizzlies led 19-15 after the first quarter. Denver used a last 8-0 run to lead 37-36 at the half. And heading into the third, the Nuggets were up 57-53. ... Denver point guard Ty Lawson scored just three points and was 1 of 7 from the floor, including 0 for 3 from 3-point range. ... Heading into the game, Denver coach Karl said turnovers would be a key, and they were. The Nuggets committed 17 of them, including six in the fourth quarter. Those turnovers led to 30 points for the Grizzlies, who committed just 11. ... One of the reasons the Grizzlies struggle to score is they aren't getting many easy baskets. They were held to just nine fast break points. ... McGee was active in the middle for Denver, scoring 12 points to go with nine rebounds and six blocked shots. ... After playing 21 of its first 31 games on the road, the Nuggets return to the Pepsi Center where they will play seven of their next eight games. ... For the first time this season, Memphis forward Marreese Speights led the team in rebounding with 10 off the bench. He also had eight points.

UP NEXT: For the Nuggets: Tuesday vs. L.A. Clippers, Thursday vs. Minnesota, Saturday vs. Utah; For the Grizzlies, Monday @ Indiana, Wednesday @ Boston, Friday vs. Portland.

• Nuggets: Chandler, Miller
• Grizzlies: Wroten

• Nuggets: Gallinari
• Grizzlies: Gay, Haddadi

• Lead Changes: 12
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #35 Kane Fitzgerald, #76 Steven Anderson
• Attendance: 17707
• Duration: 2:11