Grizzlies-Hawks Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Feb 06 2013 2:17AM

The Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies are struggling to find consistency, and recent sloppy play has only made that more difficult.

Atlanta hopes to correct those mistakes and beat the visiting Grizzlies for the 11th time in 13 meetings on Wednesday night.

The Hawks (26-21) have dropped 11 of 17 games after going 17-6 over the previous 23 as they seemed to be a factor in the Southeast Division. They've gone from 1 1/2 games back of first-place Miami to six.

Memphis (30-17) finds itself in a similar situation in the Southwest Division. A 6-7 stretch has dropped the Grizzlies from one-half game back of first place to seven games behind division-leading San Antonio.

This series has been one-sided lately with the Hawks taking 10 of the last 12 meetings. Atlanta has averaged 101.6 points on 49.4 percent shooting - 40.2 from behind the arc - in those games.

That success continued Dec. 8, when Josh Smith led the way with 24 points in a 93-83 victory at Memphis. However, he was held to 11 points in a 96-77 loss in the most recent matchup at home on Feb. 2, 2012, ending Atlanta's five-game winning streak in the series there.

The Hawks are coming off consecutive losses to two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, following a 17-point loss to Indiana on Saturday with a 114-103 defeat at Indiana on Tuesday.

Smith scored nine points on 4-of-12 shooting against the Pacers and was responsible for four of his team's 18 turnovers. The Hawks also committed a season-high 33 personal fouls, as the Pacers made 31 of 40 from the stripe.

"When I look at the stat sheet, the most glaring thing is the free throws," coach Larry Drew said. "We fouled way too much. From the game plan and game strategy, I thought we tried to execute the game plan, but we put them on the free throw line too many times."

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins has his own concerns after watching his team fall 96-90 to Phoenix on Tuesday. Memphis coughed up the ball up seven times in the final quarter - three in the final 3 minutes.

"The disappointing part is they outscored us in the paint 52-40, and they got 11 offensive rebounds for 16 second-chance points," Hollins said. "Then we made some sloppy turnovers coming down the stretch for no reason."

Jerryd Bayless continues to emerge as a solid contributor for the Grizzlies. He's scored in double figures in seven straight games, averaging 21.0 during that span while shooting 53.3 percent - 6 for 13 from behind the arc - over the past four.

The guard is coming off his best performance yet, pouring in a season-high 29 points on 11 for 15 from the floor.

Zach Randolph averages 21.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in eight career visits to Atlanta, but he missed the latest matchup there with a knee injury. The big man hasn't been very productive on the road lately, averaging 8.6 points on 30.6 percent shooting (19 for 62) in his last five away games.

He may find himself battling Al Horford in the paint. The Hawks' forward-center is averaging 19.8 points over the past six games. He had 19 points and 14 boards at Memphis in December.

Teague, Smith lead Hawks past Grizzlies 103-92

By GEORGE HENRY
Posted Feb 06 2013 11:19PM

ATLANTA (AP) Hawks coach Larry Drew likes what he's seen lately from point guard Jeff Teague.

Teague had 22 points and a season-high 13 assists, Josh Smith added 19 points and 11 rebounds and Atlanta Hawks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 103-92 on Wednesday night.

"He got off to a really good start in that first half, which really set the tone for the game," Drew said about Teague. "You could see Memphis was laboring a little bit to get up and down. We were trying to put an emphasis on really pushing the basketball."

Al Horford finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds to help the Hawks snap a two-game skid.

Zach Randolph scored 20 points and Mike Conley added 17 as the Grizzlies lost their second straight.

Atlanta played without No. 2 center Zaza Pachulia, veteran guard DeShawn Stevenson and swingman Anthony Morrow, but still held the Grizzlies to 26.3 percent shooting in the third quarter.

"I thought this was one of the better games we've played in a while," Hawks guard Kyle Korver said. "Energy was high. We had some bad turnovers on the break, but I thought we were out and running and playing aggressive."

Memphis missed its first 13 shots from the field in the third before Randolph hit a 22-footer at the 6:26 mark, but the Grizzlies trailed by 19 and never recovered.

Beginning the game with the NBA's stingiest defense, Memphis allowed the Hawks to shoot a season-high 62.2 percent in the first half.

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said he appreciated the effort his reserves made in closing the gap in the fourth, but credited the Hawks' ability to frustrate Memphis' defense.

"They just did what they wanted with the pick-and-roll," Hollins said. "And then we helped, over-helped, and guys were left open all over the court."

Atlanta committed seven turnovers in the second quarter but still led 58-45 on Teague's layup in the closing seconds.

Jerryd Bayless finished with 15 points and Marc Gasol had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis.

"Seemed like we had no emotion in the game," Grizzlies guard Tony Allen said. "There was no griminess to it. There was no grittiness to it. Once they made plays, it was like we put our heads down."

The Hawks took their first double-digit lead at the 6:25 mark of the second when Teague's 3-pointer from the right corner made it 43-33.

Korver scored 12 points for Atlanta, which took its biggest lead at 23 on a free throw by Smith in the third.

Smith will try to extend his streak to five straight games with 10 rebounds when the Hawks host New Orleans on Friday. He considered the Hawks' work against Randolph a big part of the team's success.

Randolph, the NBA's second-leading rebounder, had seven boards, more than four below his average.

"He's one player that will beat you up on both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively," Smith said. "He's a big body, has soft hands and uses his positioning well in order to get offensive rebounds. I had to make a conscious effort to stay glued to him to limit his offensive rebounds and his touches on the ball."

Allen believes Memphis will regroup by watching film of its mistakes the last two games. The Grizzlies open a three-game homestand Friday against Golden State.

"I don't think guys had the mindset to come out, seek and destroy," Allen said. "Coach blamed it on the start, but personally I just think they outworked us and they outplayed us."

Much of that was due to Teague, who had nine points, five assists and no turnovers in the second quarter. He has scored at least 20 points in four of his last six games.

"We were clicking on all cylinders," Teague said. "Al was getting out and running, getting rebounds. Josh was getting out and leading the breaks, and guys were making shots."

NOTES: Pachulia missed his fourth straight game with a sore right Achilles. ... The Grizzlies dropped to 1-6 when opponents score at least 100 points. ... Drew usually doesn't play Stevenson, a 12th-year veteran, on back-to-back nights. Anthony Tolliver replaced Stevenson in the lineup, finishing with eight points and seven rebounds. "He was constantly in (Tayshaun Prince's) face and had active hands," Drew said. "Down in the post, I thought his length was very effective tonight." ... Atlanta G Devin Harris scored eight points after missing Tuesday's loss at Indiana with a sore left foot. ... Memphis is 5-2 on the road against Eastern Conference clubs this season. ... Both teams were playing for the second consecutive night.

Notebook: Hawks 103, Grizzlies 92

Matt Winklejohn, For NBA.com
Posted Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:59 PM - Updated Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:00 AM

THE FACTS: Jeff Teague had 22 points and a season-high 13 assists Wednesday to help the Hawks snap a two-game losing streak with a 103-92 win over the visiting Grizzlies.

He had plenty of help, as Josh Smith (19 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three blocked shots) and Al Horford (17 points, 11 rebounds) more than held their own against the Memphis backline of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Randolph led Memphis with 20 points and seven rebounds, but he scored eight in the fourth quarter by which time the game was lopsided. The Hawks also outrebounded the Grizzlies 46-38.

Randolph's short hook shot with 10:47 left in the second quarter tied the game at 26, but Atlanta (27-21) then went on a 17-7 run, and the Grizzlies never came closer than seven points from then on. They trailed by 23 in the third quarter. The Hawks shot a season-best 62.2 percent (23-for-37) in the first half on the way to a 58-48 lead against the NBA's stingiest defense. Memphis (30-18) lost its second straight game, and fell for the eighth time in 14 games after a 24-10 start. Memphis newcomers Tayshaun Prince (six points), Austin Daye (three) and Ed Davis (two, six rebounds) hardly influenced the game.

Atlanta shot 51.4 percent overall, and went 10-for-24 on 3-pointers as Kyle Korver shot 2-for-5 from distance on the way to 12 points. He tied the franchise record and set a personal record by making at least one trey in his 42nd straight game. Former Hawks point guard Mookie Blaylock did that from 1996-97.

QUOTABLE: "We were clicking on all cylinders. Al [Horford] was getting out and running, getting rebounds. Josh [Smith] was getting out and leading the breaks, and guys were making shots."

-- Jeff Teague

THE STAT: +5 -- Both teams made 38 shots from the field, but the Hawks took twice as many 3-pointers as the Grizzlies (24 to 12), and made twice as many, too (10 to 5).

TURNING POINT: After Randolph's hook tied the game early in the second quarter for the last time, Atlanta's 17-7 run was fueled by four made 3-pointers. Rookie John Jenkins made two, Korver one and Teague one. Four different Hawks made at least two treys, including Anthony Tolliver in just his second start of the season, at small forward.

QUOTABLE II: "We weren't playing our game. They ran at us every time, and they put a lot of pressure on the ball. It hurts even more to get beat at your own game, and get outworked. . . . Obviously, we're struggling a little bit right now, but we're going to fight and figure it out."

-- Marc Gasol

HOT: In his past two games. Teague has scored 24 and 22 points, respectively, on a combined 16-for-27 shooting. That includes 3-for-4 on 3-pointers. He also had a combined 21 assists in those game. . . . Memphis guard Jerryd Bayless scored 15 points, and his averaging 19.8 over the past five games. His season average is up to 7.0.

NOT: Grizzlies sub Darrell Arthur shot 1-for-6 off the bench and, over the past two games, he's just 2-for-16. . . . Gasol is 6-for-21 over the past two contests.

GOOD MOVE: With DeShawn Stevenson (knees) unavailable, Hawks coach Larry Drew moved Korver from small forward to shooting guard and gave Tolliver his second start of the season. He had eight points, a season-high seven rebounds and blocked a shot. Tolliver helped keep Prince (six points, two rebounds) in check.

QUOTABLE III: "From the very first day in training camp, he did things that really intrigued our staff defensively with how he was always in the right spots. From a matchup standpoint . . . [Prince's] size has bothered Kyle [Korver] in the past so I elected to go with Tolliver and I thought he did an exceptional job."

-- Larry Drew

IN THE ARENA: Tauheed Epps, aka rapper "2 Chainz," was in the house.

ROOKIE REPORT: Jenkins, the Atlanta rookie guard who grew up in Nashville, continues to make use of his expanded playing time. He shot a young career-best 3-for-6 on 3-pointers for nine points, and added five rebounds.

NOTABLE: Hawks reserve center Zaza Pachulia missed his fourth straight game with a sore right Achilles' tendon. Drew said he is "day-to-day." . . . The Hawks are 10-2 when Horford and Smith each have double-doubles. . . .

UP NEXT: For the Grizzlies, Friday vs. Golden State, Sunday vs. Minnesota, Tuesday vs. Sacramento. For the Hawks, Friday vs. New Orleans, Monday @ Dallas, Wednesday @ Orlando.

• Grizzlies: Pondexter
• Hawks: Pachulia, Williams

• Grizzlies: --
• Hawks: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Officials: #23 Jason Phillips, #74 Curtis Blair, #35 Kane Fitzgerald
• Attendance: 13198
• Duration: 2:04