Grizzlies at Mavericks
The Memphis Grizzlies have lost sight of the Golden State Warriors in front of them and are watching a host of other teams grow closer in the rearview mirror. The Grizzlies will try to strengthen their grasp on the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference when they visit the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. The Mavericks are tied for fifth in the West but sit only 3 1/2 games behind Memphis and 1 1/2 back of the No. 4 spot.
Dallas seems to be over the offensive issues that plagued the team while integrating point guard Rajon Rondo, and the Mavericks are averaging 118.3 points during a three-game winning streak. Memphis has dropped three straight on the road, including a 105-95 loss at lowly Detroit on Tuesday, but posted a 19-point win in its last trip to Dallas. “We’ve got an angry team coming in here on Friday,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. “(The Grizzlies) just took a 10-point hit in Detroit, and they’ve been having their struggles. We’ve got to just understand what we’re getting into with that. Last time they were in here, they handled us pretty easily.”
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Memphis), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (47-21): Detroit had dropped 10 straight to fall well out of the postseason race in the lowly Eastern Conference before overcoming a 15-point halftime deficit against Memphis. “It was all us,” forward Zach Randolph told reporters. “They hit shots. We didn't play defense. ... Disappointing loss, especially when we're talking about what we're trying to do. We've got to do something; we've got to get tough. It's not just one thing - it's a lot.” The Grizzlies have not scored more than 96 points in any of the last five games and point guard Mike Conley (ankle) could miss his fifth straight contest on Friday.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (44-25): Dallas started its five-game homestand with a 33-point loss to Cleveland on March 10 but has been a different team over the last three games. Rondo has handed out 31 assists in those three contests and Dirk Nowitzki is 11-of-16 from 3-point range in that span. “You know, right now on this homestand we’re 3-1,” center Tyson Chandler told the team’s official website. “If we can close it out 4-1, that’s a great homestand against some tough matchups that we had. It’s more so about us internally continuing to grow, continuing to learn from our mistakes and continuing to understand the team that we have.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Memphis F Jon Leuer (back) has missed the last three games and remains questionable.
2. Dallas F Charlie Villanueva has hit multiple 3-pointers in each of the last three games.
3. Randolph, who averages 16.4 points and 11.2 rebounds, failed to record a double-double in five of the last six games.