Memphis Grizzlies Blog – Page 43 – NBA Blog

Grizzlies beat Kings to end 3-game losing streak

After a trio of blowout losses, the Memphis Grizzlies got back in rhythm for their own double-digit victory.

Mike Conley scored 19 points, Marc Gasol added 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Grizzlies snapped a three-game losing streak Friday night with an 85-69 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

The Grizzlies lost 103-82 San Antonio, 99-73 against the Los Angeles Clippers and 104-83 to Dallas in their last three games.

”It was a must-win game,” said forward Marreese Speights, who had 10 points and nine rebounds filling in for the injured Zach Randolph. ”We knew that before the game. We knew that (Thursday) when we had a team meeting. We knew we couldn’t lose at home and get blown out like we did the last three games.”

All five Memphis starters were in double figures as Tony Allen had 14 points and nine rebounds, plus six assists. Allen also had three blocks, while Rudy Gay scored 15 points.

The tailspin, amid trade talks involving Gay and other distractions, such as Gasol and Conley being the only players invited to a dinner with new owner Robert Pera, led to worries from fans and the team meeting Speights mentioned…

DeMarcus Cousins was the only Sacramento player in double figures with 22 points, plus 12 rebounds as the Kings saw their two-game winning streak end. Isaiah Thomas had nine points and five assists as the Kings recorded a season-low nine assists in the game.

— Reported by Clay Bailey of the Associated Press

Clippers without Chris Paul beat Grizzlies without Rudy Gay

Playing without Chris Paul proved no problem for the Clippers. Not having Rudy Gay was a much bigger issue for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Reserves Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes each scored 16 points, and the Clippers easily routed the Grizzlies 99-73 Monday night with Paul missing his first game this season because of a bruised right kneecap.

”Missing the best point guard in the world in Chris Paul, we all had to play collectively and step it up, and I thought we did a good job of that,” Crawford said.

The matchup between two of the best teams in the West wasn’t close after the first quarter. While Paul watched from the bench, the Grizzlies were without their leading scorer: Gay was excused for his grandmother’s funeral in Baltimore.

This also was the Clippers’ first trip to Memphis since they won Game 7 of their opening-round playoff series last May. All they did was match their largest margin of victory on the road this season while holding the Grizzles to a season-low in points and their worst field goal shooting percentage on their home court in franchise history…

Eric Bledsoe, starting for Paul, had 14 points, and Blake Griffin scored 10. Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro was able to give nine players at least 17 minutes each before heading to Houston for the second half of a back-to-back Tuesday night…

Zach Randolph had 15 for Memphis, which lost its second straight blowout, after losing 104-83 at Dallas on Saturday night. Wayne Ellington added 11 in a rare start in place of Gay, and Darrell Arthur had 10 as the Grizzlies shot just 30.3 percent (27 of 89), a franchise-low at home. Randolph said they really missed Gay’s ability to drive and relieve pressure…

The Clippers had a 40-36 scoring edge in the paint as DeAndre Jordan and Griffin helped limit Randolph to 5-of-16 shooting and Marc Gasol to 4 of 13.

— Reported by Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press

Memphis Grizzlies recall guard Tony Wroten from D-League again

The Memphis Grizzlies recalled guard Tony Wroten from the NBA Development League’s Reno Bighorns, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

In his third assignment this season, Wroten (6-6, 208) recorded 24.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.50 steals on .410 shooting in 29.0 minutes in two games after being re-assigned to the Bighorns on Jan. 11. The 19-year-old scored a D-League season-high 27 points on Jan. 12 at Idaho, his fifth 20-point performance with Reno this season.

The Seattle native has averaged 15.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.50 steals on .410 shooting in 25.4 minutes in 10 games (two starts) over three assignments with Reno this season.

Wroten will join the Grizzlies for tonight’s tilt with the Los Angeles Clippers at 7 p.m. CT at FedExForum.

Drafted by Memphis in the first round (25th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft after one season at the University of Washington, Wroten has totaled two points, two rebounds and two assists in 14 minutes over six appearances for the Grizzlies during his rookie season.

Mavs step up and beat Grizzlies 104-83

Dirk Nowitzki is coming along gradually. Maybe the Dallas Mavericks are, too.

Nowitzki scored 17 points and was one of three Dallas starters who didn’t miss from 3-point range, and Shawn Marion had a season-high 20 to lead the Mavericks to consecutive wins for the first time in a month with a 104-83 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.

The Mavericks, three days removed from dropping 10 games under .500 for the first time in 13 years, beat a team with a winning record for just the fourth time this season. They did it soundly, too, taking their first 30-point lead of the season and coasting through the fourth quarter.

”It’s the kind of game we need,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. ”We need more of these, but they’re hard to come by.”

The Grizzlies were ragged a night after a big overtime win against Southwest Division-leading San Antonio. Memphis shot 38 percent and Rudy Gay was the only starter in double figures, in part because all five of them sat out the entire fourth quarter. Gay led the Grizzlies with 12 points…

All five starters scored in double figures for Dallas, with Chris Kaman stringing together eight straight in the third quarter and finishing with 14. O.J. Mayo had 11 and Darren Collison 10.

The Mavericks were 11 of 17 from 3-point range, and the starters made eight of nine. Nowitzki hit three, Mayo two and Collison had one. Marion was the only starter to miss, going 2 of 3…

Randolph, who entered the game leading the NBA with 24 double-doubles, had six points and four rebounds.

— Reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press

Grizzlies re-assign Tony Wroten to D-League yet again

The Memphis Grizzlies re-assigned Tony Wroten to the NBA Development League’s Reno Bighorns, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. This marks the third D-League assignment this season for the rookie guard.

Wroten (6-6, 208) holds D-League averages of 13.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists on .411 shooting in 24.5 minutes in eight games (two starts) over two assignments with the Bighorns. The 19-year-old posted 14.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists on .545 shooting in 29.5 minutes in two games (both starts) for Reno during his second assignment from Dec. 26-31.

The Seattle native will be with the Bighorns for their next game tonight at Idaho.

After sweeping its three-game road trip against Phoenix, Sacramento and Golden State, Memphis returns home to host the San Antonio Spurs tomorrow at 7 p.m. at FedExForum.

Grizzlies beat Warriors to complete 3-0 road trip

Mark Jackson figured his Golden State Warriors could be in for a tough night, calling the Memphis Grizzlies ”the best frontline in basketball” hours before tipoff.

At this point, the Warriors coach should know.

Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol had their way inside on both ends of the court to help the Grizzlies complete a 3-0 road trip with a 94-87 victory over the Warriors on Wednesday night. Memphis, which has won eight straight against Golden State, outscored the Warriors 60-34 in the paint.

”Those are our horses,” said Grizzlies guard Tony Allen, who had 10 points and four rebounds off the bench. ”We ride those guys.”

Randolph finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds, Gay scored 18 points and Gasol added 12 points and nine rebounds as Memphis made its quick West Coast swing more memorable. The Grizzlies (23-10) also won at Phoenix on Sunday and at Sacramento on Monday, building a 1 1/2-game lead over Golden State (22-12) for fourth place in the Western Conference.

”We needed this,” said Gay, who also had six assists and five rebounds. ”We’ve been going through some ups and downs and had some lapses, some kind of lapse games. We lost a couple at home. We had to come out here for ourselves to get three out of three.”

Consider it done.

Stephen Curry scored 24 points and Klay Thompson had 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the Warriors lost back-to-back games for only the second time this season.

— Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Grizzlies, Suns discussing a Rudy Gay trade

The Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns are engaged in trade talks centered on forward Rudy Gay, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The Grizzlies have been shopping Gay to multiple teams, and found an interested trade partner with the Suns, sources said.

There’s no framework of a possible deal in place, but the Grizzlies have expressed a strong desire that any package involving Gay include Suns forward Jared Dudley and future first-round draft picks, sources said.

In an effort to avoid paying luxury tax in the short term, as well as get off the $17.8 million and $19.3 million owed Gay in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, new Memphis management has aggressively shopped Gay.

— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports

Zach Randolph leads Grizzlies over Suns

When Zach Randolph found his shooting stroke Sunday night, the Memphis Grizzlies took off.

Randolph scored 21 points and Rudy Gay added 20 to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 92-81 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

”Zach got going in the post and so we had a few options to run with,” said Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins. ”It was a solid win.”

Randolph had been dominant in the team’s first two meetings, averaging 16 rebounds and 28 points on 66.7 percent shooting. Though his numbers were slightly lower this time around – he had only eight rebounds, none on the offensive end – they were more than enough.

Randolph upped his shooting percentage against Phoenix, connecting on 9 of 11 shots from the field and was 3 of 5 on free throws. He also had a steal in 36 minutes…

Tony Allen scored 11 and Marc Gasol had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who have won three of their last five games.

P.J. Tucker scored a career-high 17 points and Marcin Gortat added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Suns…

Memphis became the first team in the series to win on the road since the Grizzlies won in Phoenix on December 8, 2010. … The Suns had one fast-break point. … Phoenix remained stuck on 1,999 franchise victories. … Memphis is 7-28 in Phoenix. … Suns guard Wesley Johnson played in the first half for just the seventh time in 35 games, scoring his six points on a pair of 3-pointers. … The Suns’ 38 first-half points were one more than the team’s season low.

— Reported by Jonathan Dalton of the Associated Press

Wes Matthews scores 21 to lead Blazers past Grizzlies

The Portland Trail Blazers turned up the defense down the stretch to turn back the Grizzlies.

Wesley Matthews scored 21 points, J.J. Hickson added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Portland beat Memphis 86-84 on Friday night.

Rudy Gay’s jumper from near the top of the key was off the mark as time expired, allowing the Trail Blazers to escape a closely played game that saw nine ties and 21 lead changes.

”I thought we played very good team defense,” said LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Portland. ”We played their tendencies very well down the stretch. We had talked about it all game, about knowing what guys were going to do, and I thought down the stretch we guarded that.”

Nicolas Batum and Damian Lillard added 11 points apiece for the Trail Blazers, Lillard also handing out eight assists, as Portland won for the ninth time in its last 12 games.

Marreese Speights had a season-high 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Grizzlies in place of Zach Randolph, who missed the game with flu-like symptoms. Gay had 19 points, but was 8 of 21 from the field.

Marc Gasol scored 12 points and had a career-best eight blocks. Darrell Arthur contributed 10 points off the Memphis bench.

— Reported by Clay Bailey of the Associated Press

Darrell Arthur relishes small forward challenge on Grizzlies

The last time Darrell Arthur found himself in this position, he was running around high school gymnasiums in the Dallas area.

Arthur last played small forward when his prep coach wanted to overwhelm an opponent by using a big lineup.

“I’d take my man into the post (on offense) and we’d play 1-3-1 (zone) on defense,” Arthur said, smiling. “I haven’t played it since.”

Arthur has been thrown a lot of curve balls with injuries during his NBA career. He admits having fun hacking away at this slider — playing the three spot behind Rudy Gay with usual reserve Quincy Pondexter out with a knee injury.

“I’m doing a decent job,” Arthur said.

Hollins agrees, though he clearly would rather add another player to the roster so Arthur can spend most of his time at his natural position of power forward.

— Reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal