April 2, 2011
The Grizzlies won their season-high sixth straight home game Saturday night with a 106-89 victory over the Wolves. Zach Randolph was up to his old tricks again, tallying 22 points and eight rebounds to lead Memphis. O.J. Mayo helped out with 20 points off the bench. Game Recap | Box Score | Discuss
Postgame Notes
- Memphis moved a half-game ahead of idle New Orleans for the seventh seed in the Western Conference Playoffs… The Grizzlies’ magic number is down to three.
- The Grizzlies kicked off their season-high four-game home stand, their final four home games of the season, with a 17-point win… Should Memphis (28-10 at home this season) sweep the final three games of the home stretch against the Clippers, Kings and Hornets, it would tie its single-season franchise record for home victories (31 in 2003-04).
- In the Western Conference, only the Spurs, Lakers and Nuggets have better home records than the Grizzlies.
- Memphis has won a season-high six consecutive home games (March 14-present), the club’s longest home winning streak since winning a franchise-record 11-in-a-row at FedExForum last season from Dec. 18, 2009-Jan. 25, 2010.
- The Grizzlies have beaten three consecutive teams by double figures for the first time since the final three games of the 2006-07 regular season (April 14-18, 2007).
- Memphis swept Minnesota (4-0) for the first time in franchise history.
- Minnesota lost its season-worst 10th consecutive game, the longest active skid in the NBA, and its season-low tying eighth-in-a-row on the road.
- Memphis shot .511 from the field, extending its franchise record run of shooting at least 50 percent at home to eight-straight games… The Grizzlies have shot at least .500 from the floor in 22 home games this season, tops in the NBA.
- Memphis improved to an NBA-best 18-1 and 15-0 at home when facing opponents that are playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
- The Grizzlies are now 11-9 this season on the second night of a back-to-back… Memphis defeated New Orleans on the road, 93-81, last night.
- Key Stat of the Night: Memphis stole the ball 17 times and turned 26 Minnesota turnovers into 33 points… It was a similar story the last time the Timberwolves visited FedExForum on Oct. 30, when the Grizzlies scored a season-high 36 points off 29 T-Wolves miscues, which were a Grizzlies opponents’ season high and one shy of tying the franchise record.
- Key Run of the Night: Memphis, up by nine at the end of the first quarter (29-20), built the lead up to 17 with a 10-2 run to start the second quarter, capped by back-to-back threes from O.J. Mayo and Shane Battier, which forced a timeout at 8:48 remaining… The Grizzlies, who led the game wire-to-wire, led by as many as 19 in the second half.
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Player Notes
led all scorers with 22 points, his fourth-straight game with 20 or more… Memphis is 29-12 this season when Randolph goes for at least 20 points.
O.J. Mayo had his second prolific performance off the bench in as many nights with 20 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes… Mayo is averaging 16.5 points in 21.5 minutes in the last two games and is 5-of-6 from three-point range.
Marc Gasol also had a career-high tying four steals and blocked one shot, his career-high extending 13th-straight game with a rejection.
They said...
Coach Hollins
On the team:“We have been playing well. I think we have been playing well the past three months. I don’t think it has anything to do with the schedule. We have beaten some tough teams and we have beaten some teams that weren’t so tough. We had a great win last night. We came in here tonight and sucked it up. We fought through some fatigue mentally and physically after having such a high last night to get another win against a team that is not in the playoffs. We have been scratching, crawling and battling.”/p>
On the making the playoffs:“We understand we have to keep winning. There is a point where we will be in if we keep winning and/or Houston starts losing. Our focus is to go out and play one game at a time and when they tell us we are in, then we will be in. Until that time, we have just got to keep battling.”
On the difference in the team this year:“Nothing is different. A game is still a game. I think guys have always watched other games and teams; it’s nothing new. It is just that they are watching a particular game now because they are of interest to us, in the sense that they are teams that are trying to fight for the same playoff sport that we are. When you have a good season, the difference is your energy level, your defense, your rebounding, your execution, your ball movement, and playing together. That is what is different. That is what makes a winning team. You have good players that accept their roles and they go out and do it every night as consistently and as well as possible. That is the difference.”
On the defense:“I don’t think our defense was a sharp as it has been in the past although we had 17 steals, so the thievery was working for us tonight. We forced them into 26 turnovers and got 33 points off of those turnovers. That was huge. They still shot a high percentage and we turned the ball over. I don’t think our focus and concentration was as sharp as it could have been, but it was good enough.”
Zach Randolph
On tonight’s game:“We were a little tired from last night. We kind of came out a little lethargic and a little slow when the game began, but we picked our energy up. Guys came off the bench and played well. O.J. (Mayo) had a great game and other guys chipped in and contributed. It was one of those games where we had to fight our way to the end but now we can prepare for the next one.”
On the team defensive performance:“It was definitely good on the defensive end. We got stops and got out in transition. It was one of those games. They played good and hit some shots and it was a dogfight. We just kept battling.”
On whether this game was more of a struggle than other recent games:“We were a little out of sync tonight. I think we were a little tired. Not really tired, but a little fatigued, so it was just one of those games where we came out a little slow and had to build up to it. We got the win.”