Grizzlies at Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are stuck in the middle of a scrum in the Eastern Conference and are coming off an impressive road trip. The Hawks will try to take advantage of the shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies and keep their eye on the No. 4 and 5 spots in the East when they return home on Saturday.
Atlanta went 3-2 on the trip, with the two losses coming at Golden State and Toronto, and will play 10 of its final 17 games at home as it attempts to overtake the Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat directly above it in the standings. The Hawks looked sluggish in the road trip finale at the Raptors on Thursday and fell apart at the end with seven straight empty possessions in the fourth quarter of a 104-96 loss after holding the previous six opponents to an average of 88.5 points. The Grizzlies are dealing with a slew of injuries that have robbed them of four starters but are not showing any signs of slowing down. Memphis won two of its last three games with the depleted lineup and pulled out an overtime victory against New Orleans behind Lance Stephenson’s career-high 33 points on Friday.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Memphis, Atlanta)
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (39-26): Playing the second night of a back-to-back with a roster that includes eight healthy bodies is not ideal, and Memphis hopes to get either Zach Randolph (knee) or Chris Andersen (shoulder) back to help out in the frontcourt on Saturday. Other players are getting a chance to shine with the likes of Randolph, Marc Gasol (foot) and Mike Conley (foot) out, and Matt Barnes recorded a triple-double with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists on Friday while Briante Weber made his NBA debut in place of Conley and delivered 10 points, seven assists and five boards in 40 minutes. Weber only started eight of the 21 D-League games he played this season before getting signed by the Grizzlies but fit right in while letting Stephenson, Barnes and JaMychal Green handle the bulk of the scoring.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (36-29): Atlanta made its run to the top of the Eastern Conference last season through balance and strong outside shooting on the offensive end and has put on similar displays over the last seven games, winning five. The most consistent of the bunch on offense has been power forward Paul Millsap, who is averaging 15 points in the last seven games and went for 23 points and 14 rebounds in a 116-101 victory in Memphis on Nov. 27. Millsap struggled to 2-of-8 from the field on Thursday but knocked down 8-of-12 from the line to score in double figures for the 15th straight game.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks PF Mike Scott (personal) missed Thursday’s game and is questionable for Saturday.
2. Green scored a career-high 21 points on Friday in his third straight double-double.
3. Memphis G Vince Carter left Friday’s game with a leg injury and did not return.