Cavaliers-Grizzlies Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Apr 23 2012 1:10AM

A string of lackluster opponents couldn't have come at a much better time for the Memphis Grizzlies, who are attempting to secure homecourt advantage for the opening round of the playoffs. The Grizzlies, though, aren't necessarily making it easy on themselves in those games.

After surviving a late comeback attempt, Memphis will try to stay alive in the race for a top-four finish in the Western Conference by beating another sub-.500 team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, on Monday night.

The Grizzlies' four straight wins have all come over teams with losing records but they've prevailed by an average of seven points in those games. They had to rally from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to pull out an 85-80 victory Friday against league-worst Charlotte and nearly blew a 12-point advantage in the final 4:15 of a 93-89 win over Portland the next day.

Rudy Gay made a key block on a 3-point attempt with five seconds left and had a team-best 21 points during that game.

"Sometimes, we play to the level of our opponents," center Marc Gasol said. "If we play a good team, we play a lot better. If we play the not-so-good teams, we play to their level. That's a part of the process of getting better and being a good team. At least, we get up at the end and realize that we've actually got to win."

Memphis (39-25) is 14-4 over its last 18 with some of those early wins coming on the road against marquee opponents Oklahoma City, Miami and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Grizzlies also recorded home wins over Dallas and the Los Angeles Clippers, who lead Memphis by one game for fourth place in the West.

"Those are the kind of games these guys get up for," coach Lionel Hollins said. "Then after we had that stretch of those teams, all of a sudden, we get a stretch of a bunch of teams that aren't in the playoffs. I can't say we struggled. We haven't been as focused to go out and dominate them."

The Grizzlies and Clippers each have two games remaining with Los Angeles holding the tiebreaker. That means Memphis needs to beat the Cavaliers (21-42), losers in 19 of 24, to maintain its chances of a top-four finish.

The Grizzlies also don't hold the tiebreaker over the third-place Los Angeles Lakers, who lead the Clippers by one-half game in the Pacific Division.

After earning one of its rare wins Friday against New York, Cleveland fell 114-98 in San Antonio on Sunday. Antawn Jamison scored 21 points and Kyrie Irving had 19 during their team's ninth defeat in 11 road games.

"There are (three) games that we have left, but right now, it's just about getting better every day and just having a good momentum going into the summer," Irving said.

Cleveland has lost in each of its last two trips to Memphis after winning three in a row there, but those two defeats have been by a combined nine points. The Grizzlies had four players score 19 or more points, led by Zach Randolph with 29, in a 112-105 win at the FedExForum on Feb. 4, 2011.

Gay, averaging 22.6 points on 50.9 percent shooting over his last 10 games, had 26 points despite an 8-of-20 shooting performance. The Cavaliers put only eight players on the court during that defeat.

Speights, Gasol lead Grizzlies past Cavaliers

Posted Apr 24 2012 12:26AM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Tony Allen's defensive accomplishments now include the Grizzlies' franchise record for steals in a game, a performance that helped Memphis get its fifth straight win.

Allen scored 13 points and snagged a franchise-best eight steals Monday night as the Grizzlies pulled away at the end for a 109-101 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"I was alert and felt good in the passing lanes," Allen said.

His final steal came with 37 seconds left and the Grizzlies holding a 104-99 lead. It helped the Grizzlies continue their march down the stretch with their 13th win in 16 games.

"That's crazy," Memphis forward Marreese Speights said of Allen's accomplishment. "But that's what he does. He plays defense. He's probably one of the best defenders in the league."

Speights had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Marc Gasol also scored 17 points to lead Memphis. Rudy Gay scored 15 points, O.J. Mayo had 14, and Mike Conley added 12 as the Grizzlies won their 10th straight at home.

Gay and Mayo led a rally that allowed Memphis to finally put the game away in the closing minutes. The Grizzlies pulled one-half game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for fourth place in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Clippers hold the tiebreaker between the two teams.

Rookie Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers with 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting, Antawn Jamison scored 17 points and Tristan Thompson finished with 12. Manny Harris added 11 points, including nine in the fourth quarter as Cleveland lost its second straight and fifth in its last six.

"I think our guys are continuously competing at a very high level," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. "I'm very satisfied with how hard we're playing."

The score was tied at 98 - the 12th tie of the game - when Thompson hit two free throws for the Cavaliers with 3:27 left. However, Cleveland struggled from the free throw line after that, Thompson and Irving hitting only one of their last six combined.

"We really competed for 48 minutes, and it's just that type of game where the two rookies go 1 of 6 from the free throw line," Irving said. "It just happens."

The Cavaliers used 3-point shooting to build a 10-point lead early in the second quarter before the Grizzlies, who appeared lethargic in the early going, put together a 14-0 run behind the reserves.

That helped Memphis take a 55-52 lead into halftime as Speights had 15 points and Allen 10 - with at least three of Allen's field goals coming on dunks when Memphis turned up the defensive intensity.

"I believe that defense came from Tony," Conley said. "We had a good group of guys going there, and they played with a sense of urgency, especially defensively. We got in transition and made some easy buckets and kind go jump-started us in spurts when we weren't playing well."

Irving started off strong, scoring 13 of his 19 first-half points in the opening quarter. He was 7 for 10 from the field, including 2 for 4 on 3-pointers in the first two periods. Jamison added 12 for the Cavaliers, who settled into 45-percent shooting in the half.

"I was just taking what the defense gave me," Irving said. "Making simple basketball plays and feeding off my teammates. It's kind of what I do every single games. (The first) was one of the best quarters we've had throughout the season."

Irving continued to score in the third with help from Jamison. Despite Allen having three steals in the period, the Cavaliers led 78-77 heading to the fourth quarter.

The final period started with a handful of lead changes before Memphis created some space behind Mayo and Gay. Harris was able to pull Cleveland back into the game with all nine of his points in the period during the first eight minutes.

NOTES: Grizzlies G Lester Hudson played 13 games for Cleveland on two 10-day contracts, averaging 12.7 points. ... Cavs F Luke Walton coached at the University of Memphis during the lockout. ... Memphis reserve F Quincy Pondexter left the game in the second quarter with a left knee injury. Team said an MRI is scheduled for Tuesday. ... The Cavaliers topped 100 points in Memphis for the seventh straight time.

Notebook: Grizzlies 109, Cavaliers 101

Posted Tuesday April 24, 2012 12:14AM

By Marlon W. Morgan for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Watching Memphis native Lester Hudson score nine second-quarter points got teammate Tony Allen pumped, to the point where the Memphis Grizzlies guard had his best game since returning from a five-game absence with facial lacerations. Allen recorded a franchise-record eight steals to go with 13 points and eight rebounds as the Grizzlies beat Cleveland 109-101 for their fifth consecutive win overall and their 10th in a row at FedExForum.

QUOTABLE: "When I look at Lester, he's kind of like the Jeremy Lin story, a great success. He's a hard-worker, a grit and grind guy. He's definitely Team G & G. When I got out there to play with him, I was looking for him every time I got a rebound or a steal. I'm happy for him."
-- Allen on newly acquired Memphis guard Hudson

THE STAT: With one home game remaining against Orlando on Thursday night, the Grizzlies can tie their franchise record with 11 consecutive wins at FedExFoum. That record was set from Dec. 18, 2009 to Jan. 25, 2010.

TURNING POINT: The Grizzlies, who have struggled in their last six games against teams out of the playoff picture, gave the Cavaliers several chances down the stretch to pull out the win. But trailing 100-98 with 2:17 to play, the Cavaliers missed five free throws in their next three possessions, allowing the Grizzlies to pull out another victory. Cleveland rookie Kyrie Irving was 0-for-2 and fellow rookie Tristan Thompson was 1-for-4 down the stretch.

HOT: Memphis forward Marreese Speights had his best offensive output in nearly a month, scoring 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Speights also had a team-high 10 rebounds, giving him back-to-back double-doubles for the first time since Feb. 15 and 17.

NOT: Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph appeared to be in a funk all night. Coming off the bench again, Randolph picked up three fouls in the first half. In just over seven minutes in the half, he failed to take a shot, had just one rebound and committed two turnovers. Randolph started the second half, but wasn't much better, going 1-for-5 from the floor and grabbing four more rebounds. Randolph played the entire third quarter and finished the game with three points and five rebounds.

QUOTABLE II: "I picture myself in my backyard, and it just didn't go my way. The thing about those two misses, they were both long. So I just had to pull back a little bit. It's just two misses, but like I said, it's part of the game of basketball. You win some, you lose some."
-- Cleveland's Irving

NOTABLE: The win kept the Grizzlies hopes alive at possibly catching the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 4 position and home-court advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Grizzlies are now a half-game behind the Clippers. In addition to winning their season finale against Orlando on Thursday, the Grizzlies need the Clippers to lose their final two games at Atlanta and New York. ... Memphis forward Quincy Pondexter left the game with 7:58 remaining in the second quarter when he was hit in his left knee. Pondexter did not return and will have an MRI on Tuesday morning. ... Irving was impressive, scoring a game-high 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Unfortunately, his only two missed free throws came with 2:17 to play and the Cavs trailing 100-98 at the time. ... Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said how much is starters play Thursday will depend on whether or not the team is playing for home-court advantage in the playoffs.

UP NEXT: For the Cavaliers, Wednesday vs. Washington, Thursday @ Chicago. For the Grizzlies, Thursday vs. Orlando.

• Cavaliers: Erden, Gibson
• Grizzlies: Arenas, Arthur

• Cavaliers: --
• Grizzlies: --

• Lead Changes: 12
• Times Tied: 12

• Arena: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
• Officials: #41 Ken Mauer, #70 Brent Barnaky, #75 Eric Dalen
• Attendance: 15504
• Duration: 2:13