MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) The Memphis Grizzlies held on for a big win to tighten the Western Conference race for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Marc Gasol scored 18 points, Rudy Gay had 16 and the Grizzlies beat the Clippers 94-85 Monday night, moving one-half game behind Los Angeles for the fourth seed in the West

”It’s the wild, wild West,” said Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo, who had 13 points. ”You look in the (Eastern Conference). When you get down to the last five or six games, a lot of teams pretty much start resting. In the West, that’s not possible. Every game counts down the stretch. You can lose two or three, and have a tough opponent in the first round.

”Everyone is really close, and we moved that much closer to the fourth spot. We’ve just got to keep playing well.”

The game had the atmosphere of a playoff matchup. The Memphis crowd was intense, the play on the floor was physical and emotions were high with a lot of players barking about calls.

The aggressive play was part of the Grizzlies’ strategy.

”We didn’t want them to run free and get a bunch of lobs,” Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. ”Just be physical and aggressive with them, and I thought we accomplished that.

”We held them to 85 points, and they can score.”

Mike Conley also scored 13 points for Memphis, which won for the eighth time in 10 games. Marreese Speights 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.

”That was probably the only negative I saw – the 20 turnovers, and that we gave up 29 points (off turnovers),” Hollins said. ”But the rest of the game was really outstanding.”

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.

”I couldn’t make a shot,” said Paul who was 7 for 17 from the floor, and missed three of his four attempts from outside the arc. ”I couldn’t throw a rock in the ocean. We had a lot of easy ones that we just couldn’t convert.”

The Clippers pulled to 86-83 with 55.8 seconds left on Jordan’s dunk. But Memphis hit all six of its free throws, including four by Conley, in the final 31 seconds to preserve the victory.

The Grizzlies led 52-41 at halftime despite committing seven turnovers, a prelude to a night of miscues. Memphis overcame the ballhandling problems by shooting 55 percent and controlling the boards, 23-18 before the break.

”They are one of the best rebounding teams in the league,” Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. ”I thought we did a good job handling some of the pressure, but we did not rebound the ball well, especially in the first half. They were more physical, and we struggled to shoot the ball.”

Memphis finished shooting 50 percent, while the Clippers were limited to 41 percent.

Gasol led the Grizzlies with 12 points in the first half. No Clippers player had reached double figures, but Paul and Foye had nine apiece and Griffin had eight. Griffin also spent some time on the bench with two fouls.

The Clippers, who committed five turnovers in the half, including two in the final minute, shot 37 percent before the break.

Memphis extended the lead to 15 early in the second half, and maintained a double-digit margin through much of the third quarter. The Grizzlies led 71-60 heading to the fourth.

Bledsoe’s layup got the Clippers’ deficit under double digits to start the final period, but Mayo scored a pair of baskets, extending the lead to 81-64 with 7 minutes left.

Griffin and Paul were on the bench at the time. When they returned during the middle portion of the fourth, consecutive baskets by Paul pulled Los Angeles to 84-74 with 3:14 left.

Paul’s 3-point play with 1:22 left got the Clippers to 86-81, the closest they had been since the latter stages of the first half. A dunk by Jordan with 55.8 seconds left got them even closer at 86-83.

But Gay got a feed from Mayo on the baseline with the Clippers overplaying defensively and his dunk put the Grizzlies up five. Gay followed with two free throws after Paul’s turnover, and Conley converted the final four free throws.

”We got stops,” Griffin said of the comeback. ”We got in the open court and got some easy buckets. Once that happens, some shots start to fall. We fought back, but obviously didn’t finish it out, and that was the problem.”

No one had to point out how close the two teams are or could ignore the possibility of a first-round 4 vs. 5 matchup.

”We are right there,” Griffin said. ”We are going back and forth. We very likely could (face each other), and we are excited about that.”

”We wanted to get this win for ourselves,” Conley said. ”We want to move up and get the fourth spot and go even further if we can.”

NOTES: Memphis assistant coach Barry Hecker was back on the Grizzlies’ bench Monday night. Hecker missed Saturday’s home win over Dallas with an illness. He said it was the first game he has missed since he began his coaching career in 1971. … Memphis recalled rookie G Josh Selby from Reno of the NBADL. … Randolph played despite being involved in a minor car accident earlier Monday. There were no injuries. Randolph tweeted shortly after the wreck that he was not injured except for a sore back. With the back end of that car falling off, Randolph drove his Rolls Royce convertible to the arena. ”I was kind of scared,” he said of driving the Rolls. … Despite the loss, the Clippers still hold the tiebreaker with a 2-1 advantage in the season series. .Griffin, the league’s sixth-leading rebounder at 11.0 per game, had only six Monday night, his second lowest-game of the season. .Jordan had his eight double-double of the season.

 

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)

The Memphis Grizzlies held on for a big win to tighten the Western Conference race for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Marc Gasol scored 18 points, Rudy Gay had 16 and the Grizzlies beat the Clippers 94-85 Monday night, moving one-half game behind Los Angeles for the fourth seed in the West

”It’s the wild, wild West,” said Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo, who had 13 points. ”You look in the (Eastern Conference). When you get down to the last five or six games, a lot of teams pretty much start resting. In the West, that’s not possible. Every game counts down the stretch. You can lose two or three, and have a tough opponent in the first round.

”Everyone is really close, and we moved that much closer to the fourth spot. We’ve just got to keep playing well.”

The game had the atmosphere of a playoff matchup. The Memphis crowd was intense, the play on the floor was physical and emotions were high with a lot of players barking about calls.

The aggressive play was part of the Grizzlies’ strategy.

”We didn’t want them to run free and get a bunch of lobs,” Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. ”Just be physical and aggressive with them, and I thought we accomplished that.

”We held them to 85 points, and they can score.”

Mike Conley also scored 13 points for Memphis, which won for the eighth time in 10 games. Marreese Speights 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.

”That was probably the only negative I saw: the 20 turnovers, and that we gave up 29 points (off turnovers),” Hollins said. ”But the rest of the game was really outstanding.”

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.

”I couldn’t make a shot,” said Paul who was 7 for 17 from the floor and missed three of his four attempts from outside the arc. ”I couldn’t throw a rock in the ocean. We had a lot of easy ones that we just couldn’t convert.”

The Clippers pulled to 86-83 with 55.8 seconds left on Jordan’s dunk. But Memphis hit all six of its free throws, including four by Conley, in the final 31 seconds to preserve the victory.

The Grizzlies led 52-41 at halftime despite committing seven turnovers, a prelude to a night of miscues. Memphis overcame the ballhandling problems by shooting 55 percent and controlling the boards, 23-18 before the break.

”They are one of the best rebounding teams in the league,” Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. ”I thought we did a good job handling some of the pressure, but we did not rebound the ball well, especially in the first half. They were more physical, and we struggled to shoot the ball.”

Memphis finished shooting 50 percent, while the Clippers were limited to 41 percent.

Gasol led the Grizzlies with 12 points in the first half. No Clippers player had reached double figures, but Paul and Foye had nine apiece and Griffin had eight. Griffin also spent some time on the bench with two fouls.

The Clippers, who committed five turnovers in the half, including two in the final minute, shot 37 percent before the break.

Memphis extended the lead to 15 early in the second half, and maintained a double-digit margin through much of the third quarter. The Grizzlies led 71-60 heading to the fourth.

Bledsoe’s layup got the Clippers’ deficit under double digits to start the final period, but Mayo scored a pair of baskets, extending the lead to 81-64 with 7 minutes left.

Griffin and Paul were on the bench at the time. When they returned during the middle portion of the fourth, consecutive baskets by Paul pulled Los Angeles to 84-74 with 3:14 left.

Paul’s 3-point play with 1:22 left got the Clippers to 86-81, the closest they had been since the latter stages of the first half. A dunk by Jordan with 55.8 seconds left got them even closer at 86-83.

But Gay got a feed from Mayo on the baseline with the Clippers overplaying defensively and his dunk put the Grizzlies up five. Gay followed with two free throws after Paul’s turnover, and Conley converted the final four free throws.

”We got stops,” Griffin said of the comeback. ”We got in the open court and got some easy buckets. Once that happens, some shots start to fall. We fought back, but obviously didn’t finish it out, and that was the problem.”

No one had to point out how close the two teams are or could ignore the possibility of a first-round 4 vs. 5 matchup.

”We are right there,” Griffin said. ”We are going back and forth. We very likely could (face each other), and we are excited about that.”

”We wanted to get this win for ourselves,” Conley said. ”We want to move up and get the fourth spot and go even further if we can.”

NOTES: Memphis assistant coach Barry Hecker was back on the Grizzlies’ bench Monday night. Hecker missed Saturday’s home win over Dallas with an illness. He said it was the first game he has missed since he began his coaching career in 1971. … Memphis recalled rookie G Josh Selby from Reno of the NBADL. … Randolph played despite being involved in a minor car accident earlier Monday. There were no injuries. Randolph tweeted shortly after the wreck that he was not injured except for a sore back. With the back end of that car falling off, Randolph drove his Rolls Royce convertible to the arena. ”I was kind of scared,” he said of driving the Rolls. … Despite the loss, the Clippers still hold the tiebreaker with a 2-1 advantage in the season series. .Griffin, the league’s sixth-leading rebounder at 11.0 per game, had only six Monday night, his second lowest-game of the season. .Jordan had his eight double-double of the season.

MEMPHIS, Tenn.
– 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.

The game had the atmosphere of a playoff matchup. The Memphis crowd was intense, the play on the floor was physical and emotions were high with a lot of players barking about calls.

The Clippers pulled to 86-83 with 55.8 seconds left on Jordan’s dunk. But Memphis hit all six of its free throws, including four by Conley, in the final 31 seconds to preserve the victory.

The Grizzlies led 52-41 at halftime despite committing seven turnovers. Memphis overcame the ballhandling problems by shooting 55 percent and controlling the boards, 23-18.

Memphis finished shooting 50 percent, while the Clippers were limited to 41 percent.

Gasol led the Grizzlies with 12 points in the first half. No Clippers player had reached double figures, but Paul and Foye had nine apiece and Griffin had 8. Griffin also spent some time on the bench with two fouls.

Memphis’ 11-point halftime lead was its largest at the break this season.

The Clippers, who committed five turnovers, including two in the final minute of the half, shot 37 percent before the break.

Memphis extended the lead to 15 early in the second half, and maintained a double-digit margin through much of the third quarter. The Grizzlies led 71-60 heading to the fourth.

Bledsoe’s layup got the Clippers’ deficit under double digits to start the final period, but Memphis started feeding Randolph, then Mayo scored a pair of baskets, extending the lead to 81-64 with 7 minutes left.

Griffin and Paul were on the bench at the time. When they returned during the middle portion of the fourth, consecutive baskets by Paul pulled Los Angeles to 84-74 with 3:14 left.

Paul’s 3-point play with 1:22 left got the Clippers to 86-81, the closest they had been since the latter stages of the first half. A dunk by Jordan with 55.8 seconds left got them even closer at 86-83.

But Gay got a feed from Mayo on the baseline with the Clippers overplaying defensively and his dunk put the Grizzlies up five. Gay followed with two free throws after Paul’s turnover, and Conley converted the final four free throws.

NOTES: Memphis assistant coach Barry Hecker was back on the Grizzlies’ bench Monday night. Hecker missed Saturday’s home win over Dallas with an illness. He said it was the first game he has missed since he began his coaching career in 1971. … Memphis recalled rookie G Josh Selby from Reno of the NBADL. … Randolph played despite being involved in a minor car accident earlier Monday. There were no injuries. Randolph tweeted shortly after the wreck that he was not injured except for a sore back. … Despite the loss, the Clippers still hold the tiebreaker with a 2-1 advantage in the season series.

The Miami Heat had the opportunity to tie their franchise record home-win streak on April 6, but they fell short against the Memphis Grizzlies, losing 97-82. With the loss, the Heat drifted further from the Eastern Conference leading Chicago Bulls, now trailing by three games.

Things went bad for the Heat right from the start, scoring only 12 points in the first quarter of the game. By halftime, the Heat were down by 16 points, and the Grizzlies never gave them a chance to get back into the game.

“They just beat us,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game. “Really, the tale was that first quarter. … The lack of concentration and focus in that first quarter, we couldn’t make up for that.”

LeBron James led Miami’s offense against the Grizzlies, finishing with 21 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were right behind LeBron, putting up 20 and 19 points respectively.

Unfortunately for the Heat, their role players – with the exception of Joel Anthony and Terrel Harris – put up dismal performances, walking away with a combined 5 points.

Anthony hasn’t been particularly impressive for the Heat this season, but he had one of his better games against the Grizzlies. Anthony was obviously on a mission to get his starting job back; putting up 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks (he went 3-3 from the field). Interestingly, Spoelstra failed to capitalize on Anthony’s energy, using him for only 15 minutes.

The Heat’s poor performance against the Grizzlies is completely inexcusable, and it really makes me wonder where the players are mentally. It wasn’t as if the game had no meaning (considering the fact the “big three” would have made franchise history with two more home wins), yet, the team failed to show up.

With a month left in the 2011/12 NBA season; the Heat will have to dig down deep if they want to secure the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Their next game will be against the Detroit Pistons on April 8.

David is a Miami Heat fan that has followed the team for 16 years. Follow him on twitter @davidkingwriter and check out his blog.

Sources:

Associated Press, “Grizzlies snap Heat’s 17-game home winning streak”

Player and game information from ESPN.com

More from the Yahoo! Contributor Network:

Steve Nash Open to Signing with the Miami Heat

Boston Celtics Outclass Miami Heat

Miami Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra Skating on Thin Ice

LeBron James Drops 41 Points, Miami Heat Increase Home Streak to 16 Games

Miami Heat Avenge Loss to Thunder

March 26, 2012 – NBA Development League (D-League)
NEW YORK, March 26, 2012 – 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 fans can stay in step with Selby, who is expected to join the Bighorns today and be available on Wednesday, March 28 when the team travels to play the Los Angeles D-Fenders, by logging onto nba.com/futurecast to watch all of Reno’s games live, online, for free.

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COMMENTARY | Last season, the No. 8 seeded Memphis Grizzlies defeated the top team in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs, without star forward Rudy Gay.

Just when the team thought they were going to have their full lineup for the 2011-12 season, power forward Zach Randolph injured his knee four games into this year’s campaign. Without Randolph, the Grizzlies posted a 24-17 record and are in fifth place in the Western Conference.

Although Memphis has played well as of late, Randolph’s return is finally going to show the basketball world what the team can really do when all the parts are in working order.

Randolph came back to the Grizzlies Friday in a 114-110 overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors. In only his fifth game of the season, he scored 25 points off of 64% shooting from the field and grabbed nine rebounds (six were offensive boards). Sunday, he scored 13 points and pulled down nine rebounds in a 97-92 win against the Washington Wizards.

With the eleventh year player back in the lineup, the Grizzlies have arguably the second best center and power forward combination in the league with Randolph and Marc Gasol. The only big man duo I would classify as better than Randolph and Gasol is the Los Angeles Lakers’ duo of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

Package the second best front court with Gay’s 19 points and 7 rebounds per game and we have arguably the best front court in the league. If I had to list the league’s best threesome from the small forward to center positions, Memphis wins by a far margin.

Bynum and Pau Gasol are great, but Ron Artest isn’t enough to best the Grizzlies.

The Indiana Pacers have Roy Hibbert, David West and Danny Granger, but I like all three of Memphis’ players better than their Indiana counterpart. I feel the same way about Memphis when compared to Chicago’s Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng, even though they’re closer than the Pacers.

The Bulls’ front court plays better defense but Gay, Randolph and Marc Gasol are far better scorers and influence the game more than the Chicago players. Deng is considered a “glue guy” as Gay is considered “the guy”. Noah is a “hustle man” while Marc Gasol is “a complete center”. Bulls’ fans want Boozer out and Grizzlies’ fans couldn’t wait for Z-Bo to return.

With the Grizzlies full lineup at full throttle, I think they could beat any team in the Western Conference in a seven game series. Randolph came back and didn’t miss a step as he put up 25 points in his first game back to go along with Gasol’s 28 points and Gay’s 26. These guys haven’t even had time to fully gel and scored 79 points. Imagine what they could do after a month of playing together.

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Memphis climbs the Western Conference standings and is the second seed heading into the playoffs.They’re only a half game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the four seed, two behind the Lakers for third and four from the Spurs for second.

The Grizzlies are probably not going to catch the Oklahoma City Thunder, since they’re playing out of their mind, but Memphis could take the second or third spot and play an easier competitor in the first round.

Randolph’s return is the missing piece in the Western Conference playoff race. Now, finally, the Memphis Grizzlies have all of their legs underneath them and can prove they are no longer the underdog.

Brandon LaChance has been a diehard NBA follower since 1994 and began blogging about the league in 2007. Besides contributing to the Yahoo! Contributor Network, he writes and podcasts for Oncourt Onslaught while covering local sports for a rural Illinois newspaper.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After playing in a first-half funk, the Memphis Grizzlies finally relied on better team basketball in the second half.

And Rudy Gay’s 3-pointer with 23.9 seconds left put the finishing touch on the Washington Wizards.

Gay scored 27 points, including five in the final minute, to lift the Grizzlies to a 97-92 victory over the Wizards on Sunday.

“I think as the game went on, especially late in the fourth quarter, we finally made the right play,” said guard Mike Conley, who added 17 points and six assists. “The play to Rudy at the end with the 3 was a prime example of the right play, and we finally made it.”

Marc Gasol had 15 points and Zach Randolph added 13 for Memphis, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Randolph, Gay and Gasol had nine rebounds apiece, helping the Grizzlies to a 53-40 advantage on the boards.

“They are a physical team. They muck it up,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. “They are very physical out front. There is a lot of bumping, grinding and fouling that makes them that way.

“We gave ourselves an opportunity, but we just couldn’t make plays down the stretch.”

John Wall led the Wizards with 25 points and six assists. Jordan Crawford finished with 22 points, and Kevin Seraphin had 12 points and 12 rebounds as Washington lost for the fifth time in the last six.

Washington committed 21 turnovers, including seven by Wall. Memphis committed 14 turnovers while shooting just 40 percent.

The Wizards trailed only 90-86 after Wall’s layup with 46 seconds left. But Gay connected on the 3-pointer, and the Grizzlies hit their last four free throws, including a pair by Gay.

“It was just us playing team basketball,” Gay said. “That’s one thing about us, the way we’ve been playing. If they take away one thing, try the next option. If that option is taken away, we have another option for that.”

Memphis was able to build its advantage in the third quarter and never trailed in the fourth, although Washington did pull even with 8:23 left on a dunk by Maurice Evans.

Washington carried a 48-45 lead into intermission after an ugly first half that involved poor shooting, poor ballhandling and little flow.

The Wizards shot better at 45 percent, but committed 10 turnovers. Memphis managed only 38 percent from the field and had seven turnovers.

“We were basically just trying to find our way,” Gay said. “I didn’t feel like we didn’t know what we were doing. It was kind of like we were a step slow.”