Warriors at Grizzlies
THE STORY: The Memphis Grizzlies began the toughest week of their season in fine fashion on Monday, winning the first in a stretch of five games in six days. The victory over the Western Conference-best Oklahoma City Thunder propelled the Grizzlies into fifth place in the conference. Memphis will look to keep rolling when it hosts the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. The struggling Warriors have dropped five straight in the series and five in a row overall.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CS Bay Area (Warriors), SportSouth (Grizzlies)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (20-31): Fans were upset about the Monta Ellis trade weeks ago in part because it seemed to signal that the team was giving up on this season in favor of the future. That assumption appears to be correct. Golden State has lost to the Los Angeles Lakers twice but it has also dropped home games to the lowly New Orleans Hornets and New Jersey Nets during the five-game slide. The Warriors have lost 10 of 12 since March 13 while allowing an average of 104 points. Ellis was still around for the first three meetings with Memphis this season but could not quite drag Golden State to a win. The Warriors dropped a 91-90 decision on Jan. 23, a 104-103 final on Feb. 18 and a 110-92 game in Memphis on March 7.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (29-22): Memphis is kicking off the week with a back-to-back-to-back stretch before getting Thursday off and then playing another back-to-back set on Friday and Saturday. The Grizzlies might have to fight to not overlook the Warriors, who are the only team in that run not part of the playoff mix. Memphis looked as though it was headed to the wrong side of the bubble when it dropped five of six in the middle of March but has since picked it up, taking four of the last five. The most impressive win came Monday, as the Grizzlies went into Oklahoma City and held the high-scoring team down in a 94-88 triumph. O.J. Mayo has been the key to the last two wins, leading the team in scoring with 23.0 points. As if the schedule could get worse, Tuesday marks only the second home game in a stretch of 11 games.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley (ankle) has missed two straight games. He is day-to-day.
2. Former Warriors coach Don Nelson was announced Monday as part of the 2012 Hall of Fame class.
3. Golden State center Andris Biedrins (groin) returned Sunday after missing seven games.