Mavericks at Grizzlies
THE STORY: The Memphis Grizzlies are fresh off an epic victory over the Miami Heat and seeking their fifth victory in six games when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. Memphis snapped Miami’s 17-game home winning streak Friday with an impressive 97-82 win over the Heat. The resounding effort occurred two days after the Grizzlies lost by 10 points to the Mavericks in Dallas. The Mavericks suffered a home overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.
TV: 8 ET, Fox Sports Southwest (Dallas), SportSouth (Memphis)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (31-25): The contest against the Grizzlies is doubly important for Dallas after its stunning loss to the Trail Blazers. The Mavericks are one game behind fifth-place Memphis in the Western Conference playoff race and find themselves just a half-game ahead of Houston and Denver. Finishing seventh or eighth means facing either the San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round and the defending NBA champions would like to avoid those scenarios. The Mavericks scored a season-low 10 points in the third quarter against Portland to help let a 15-point lead slip away.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (31-23): Memphis used a fast start to display it was ready for the Heat. The Grizzlies held Miami to 12 first-quarter points and led by 16 points at halftime. “The first time I looked up at the scoreboard, we were up 15 points,” Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. “We were playing well and we had a lot of people do a lot of good things. Our defense was really good early on. We slowed the tempo like we like to do and we ran when we had opportunities.” The Grizzlies also had a well-balanced effort with seven players scoring in double figures, led by Rudy Gay’s 17 points.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The teams have split two previous meetings this season
2. Grizzlies guard Tony Allen missed the Miami game due to a cut mouth he suffered against Dallas on Wednesday.
3. Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd (groin) has missed three consecutive contests.