Memphis Grizzlies Blog – Page 52 – NBA Blog

Duncan scores 28, Spurs cool surging Grizzlies

Not since the old days does Tim Duncan remember having the ball run through him so many times.

But forget the old days. He was just relieved to get the San Antonio Spurs back to how they looked last week.

Making good on a guarantee that the West’s second-winningest team would start playing like it again, Duncan had 28 points and 12 rebounds and the Spurs shook off their funk to top the surging Memphis Grizzlies 107-97 on Thursday night.

Duncan matched his season-high a night after the Kobe Bryant-less Los Angeles Lakers humiliated the Spurs on their home court. Lakers center Andrew Bynum made Duncan look particularly outplayed while becoming just the second NBA player in the last dozen years to corral 30 rebounds in a game…

Manu Ginobili added 20 points and Tony Parker scored 13. The Spurs had won 11 in a row before losing their last two—the Big Three didn’t play at all the first one against Utah—and narrowly escaped their first three-game slide this season.

Rudy Gay led Memphis with 19 points. The Grizzlies had their four-game winning streak halted after their rally from a late 14-point deficit fizzled in the final minutes, and fell 1 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 4 playoff seed.

It was only the third loss in 12 games for the Grizzlies since the return of Zach Randolph…

O.J. Mayo scored 16 points and Marreese Speights added 15 for the Grizzlies.

— Reported by Paul J. Weber of the Associated Press

Marc Gasol leads Grizzlies past Clippers

Marc Gasol scored 18 points, Rudy Gay had 16 and the Memphis Grizzlies held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 94-85 on Monday night.

Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo added 13 each for Memphis, which won for the eighth time in 10 games and moved one-half game behind the Clippers for the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

Marreese Speights finished had 12 points and Zach Randolph added 10 points and 12 rebounds as the Grizzlies finished with a 48-36 rebounding edge, but committed 20 turnovers.

Chris Paul led Los Angeles with 21 points and six assists, while Blake Griffin had 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe and Randy Foye scored 11 points each.

The Clippers snapped a two-game winning streak and lost for just the second time in 10 games.

— Reported by the Associated Press

InsideHoops.com note: Marc Gasol shot 6-of-12 for 18 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.

Grizzlies once again recall Josh Selby from D-League

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

Selby (6-2, 183) averaged 32.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists on .478 shooting (.400 3FG) in 40.5 minutes in two games with Reno after being reassigned to the Bighorns for a third time on April 5. The 21-year-old scored a D-League career-high 38 points on 13-of-25 shooting (10-of-12 FT) on April 7 at Rio Grande Valley.

Overall, the Baltimore native has averaged 25.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists on .475 shooting (.455 3FG) in 34.1 minutes in eight games (four starts) in three stints with the Bighorns.

Selby has averaged 2.5 points and 1.2 assists on .377 shooting in 8.8 minutes in 23 games during his rookie season with the Grizzlies. Memphis selected Selby in the second round (49th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft after his freshman season at the University of Kansas.

Grizzlies take big early lead, hold off Mavericks

Rudy Gay scored 25 points, Zach Randolph added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies built a big early lead and held on to beat the Dallas Mavericks 94-89 on Saturday night.

Gilbert Arenas added 14 points and made three 3-pointers, while Mike Conley finished with 12 points for Memphis, which won its second straight and seventh in the last nine games.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 17 points and eight rebounds, and Brandan Wright added 16 points. Vince Carter had 14 points, while Shawn Marion finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the Mavericks’ second straight loss.

Memphis led 29-10 after one quarter and moved two games ahead of Dallas for fifth place in the Western Conference, also claiming the head-to-head tiebreaker by winning the season series 2-1.

The Mavericks weathered an early 20-point Memphis advantage and pulled close midway through the third period.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Grizzlies snap Heat 17-game home streak

Dwyane Wade knew during pregame warmups that the Miami Heat were going to have a long night. By the end of the first quarter, the Memphis Grizzlies let everyone else know that Wade was right.

Rudy Gay scored 17 points, Zach Randolph had 14 points and 14 rebounds off the bench, and the Grizzlies put seven players in double figures to snap Miami’s 17-game home winning streak by beating the Heat 97-82 on Friday night.

Memphis led wire-to-wire, the first team to do that on Miami’s home floor since Boston on Nov. 11, 2010…

Mike Conley and Marreese Speights each scored 15, and Marc Gasol and O.J. Mayo added 10 apiece for the Grizzlies, who have won six of eight.

LeBron James finished with 21 points, six assists and six rebounds for the Heat, who failed in a bid to match the franchise’s longest home win streak, set in the 2004-05 season. Miami committed 11 turnovers in the first quarter—its most in any period since Feb. 14, 2006—and never recovered…

Wade scored 20 points, Chris Bosh added 19 and Terrel Harris scored 10 for Miami, which last lost at home on Jan. 22 to Milwaukee.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Grizzlies assign Josh Selby to D-League again

The Memphis Grizzlies assigned rookie guard Josh Selby to the Reno Bighorns, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. It marks Selby’s third D-League assignment of the season.

Selby (6-2, 183) has averaged 22.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists on .473 shooting (.471 3FG) in 32.2 minutes in six games (two starts) over two assignments with the Bighorns from Feb. 13-27 and March 26-31.

During his most recent stint in Reno, Selby averaged 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists on .457 shooting in 34.5 minutes in two games. The Baltimore native registered a triple-double on March 30 vs. Idaho, setting D-League career highs in points (32), rebounds (10) and assists (10) on 10-of-17 shooting in 40 minutes.

Selby has seen action in 23 games during his rookie season with the Grizzlies, averaging 2.5 points and 1.2 assists on .377 shooting in 8.8 minutes. The 21-year-old was selected by Memphis in the second round (49th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft after his freshman season at the University of Kansas.

Memphis will look to end Miami’s 17-game home winning streak when the Grizzlies face the Heat at 6:30 p.m. CT tomorrow at the American Airlines Arena, broadcast regionally on SportSouth.

Grizzlies win 94-88, snap Thunder streak at 6

O.J. Mayo passed up one 3-pointer with the Memphis Grizzlies’ lead dwindling in the final minute.

He wasn’t going to do it again.

Mayo scored 22 points, including a key 3-pointer with 17 seconds left, and the Grizzlies prevented Oklahoma City from tying for the NBA’s best record by beating the Thunder 94-88 on Monday night.

“It was a good look. I had my feet set,” Mayo said. “I just wanted to knock it down.” …

Oklahoma City had pulled within a game of league-leading Chicago by blowing out the Bulls a day earlier, but the Grizzlies took the lead just after halftime and never gave it back.

Memphis won despite playing without starting point guard Mike Conley (sore right ankle) and reserve Dante Cunningham (sprained left ankle) for the second straight game…

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 21 points and Russell Westbrook scored 19, with 12 coming as Oklahoma City tried to rally in the fourth quarter. After averaging 31.7 points and one turnover in his previous three games, Westbrook went 5 for 16 and committed four turnovers.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Heisley ends talks with Larry Ellison over sale of Grizzlies

Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley reiterated today his doubt that the franchise will be sold anytime soon.

How can Heisley be so sure?

He’s instructed his attorney, Stan Meadows, to stop negotiating with Oracle founder Larry Ellison because of Ellison’s repeated overtures about relocating the team.

“We’re not even considering Ellison,” Heisley said. “This team cannot be moved.”

Ellison recently signed a confidentiality agreement with Heisley and began an exploratory process to buy the Grizzlies. It was at least the third time Ellison inquired about the team over the past several years.

— Reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal

Grizzlies re-assign Josh Selby to D-League

The Memphis Grizzlies today re-assigned guard Josh Selby to the Reno Bighorns, the Grizzlies’ NBA Development League affiliate. The assignment marks the 59th time an NBA player has been assigned to his NBA D-League affiliate during the 2011-12 season and is the second assignment for Selby.

Selby (6-2, 183, Kansas) returns to the Bighorns following a four-game assignment in February, when he averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 30.8 minutes. He scored more than 20 points in three games with the Bighorns, including an NBA D-League career-high 26 points on Feb. 14 against the Austin Toros.

Originally selected by Memphis in the second round (49th overall) in the 2011 NBA Draft, Selby has appeared in 23 games for the Grizzlies this season, averaging 2.5 points, 1.2 assists and 8.8 minutes.

Grizzlies bring Zach Randolph off bench in win over Lakers

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins turned to the starting lineup he’s used the most, re-inserting Marreese Speights in place of returning power forward Zach Randolph.

The move helped the otherwise lost Grizzlies head back in the right direction with a 102-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night in the Staples Center.

Memphis ended a three-game skid and avoided being swept on its four-game road trip. With a willing Randolph playing off the bench, the Griz displayed a renewed spirit and played arguably their most cohesive basketball on both ends of the court in a week.

“Our starters came out and played with a lot of heart and passion,” Hollins said.

The Griz hadn’t looked this sharp or scrappy since a March 13 double-overtime loss at home to the Lakers. They were without Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph for that game. This time, Gay’s scoring led the Grizzlies’ early charge and Randolph was a force late.

Randolph made 4 of 5 shots and grabbed five of his 12 rebounds in the fourth quarter. The veteran forward didn’t seem to mind coming off the bench, citing a need to work on his conditioning.

— Reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal