Grizzlies at Knicks
The Memphis Grizzlies look to record their 11th victory in the past 13 games when they visit the New York Knicks on Wednesday. The Grizzlies posted an impressive 104-96 triumph over the visiting Denver Nuggets on Tuesday and can reach the .500 mark by beating New York.
Memphis got off to a 6-16 start before the current 17-8 stretch and coach Taylor Jenkins was pleased to see his squad outplay the tough Nuggets. "Overall, a really good team win," Jenkins said afterward. "Different guys stepping up, which was huge. Contributions off the bench, so, obviously a good win." While the Grizzlies hold the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference, the Knicks are struggling and tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. New York has lost 11 of its past 14 games after suffering a 97-92 road loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: FS Southeast, MSG, TSN 4/5
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (23-24): Shooting guard Dillon Brooks scored 24 points for his ninth 20-point effort in the past 12 games and Memphis is 16-1 this season when Brooks tallies at least 20. Center Jonas Valanciunas (23 points, 12 rebounds) also played well against Denver and reached double digits on the boards for the sixth time in the past eight games, while power forward Jaren Jackson had a career-best seven blocked shots to go with 10 points. Standout rookie point guard Ja Morant registered 14 points, seven assists and four steals against Denver and has been the key ingredient in the club's vast improvement.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (13-35): Forwards Julius Randle (24 points) and Marcus Morris (23) combined for more than half of New York's points against Charlotte as point guard Elfrid Payton (10) was the only other player to reach double digits. Dennis Smith Jr., who recently returned from an oblique injury, scored seven points in 15 minutes off the bench as fellow point guard Frank Ntilikina received only three minutes, scoring three points. "I thought Dennis played well," interim coach Mike Miller said afterward. "With the back-to-backs and playing against the quick guards that we're going to see (these) two nights, we felt like this was a good time to give him a chance. The game dictated that."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Grizzlies have won 11 of the past 15 meetings.
2. New York rookie SG RJ Barrett (ankle) will miss his seventh straight game and is expected to sit out at least one more week.
3. Memphis SF Jae Crowder (knee) will likely miss his third straight contest.