Mavericks at Grizzlies
All it took was a return home and some superior play from point guard Mike Conley to snap the Memphis Grizzlies out of a rut. The Grizzlies hope to use a similar formula on Friday, when they host the fading Dallas Mavericks.
Memphis averaged 89 points while dropping all four on a four-game road trip, likely locking the team into the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference playoffs, but exploded for 72 points in the first half alone while breezing to a 110-97 win over the Indiana Pacers in the return home on Wednesday. "I really thought we were reliable to not only getting a call, but executing the call and doing it with purpose, running it with force whether you were getting the ball or not," Grizzlies coach David Fizdale told reporters. "We were getting to a point where we, I don’t think purposefully, were trying to be selfish, but we weren’t cutting hard for each other regardless of the fact that we were going to get the ball or not." The Mavericks' late run at the No. 8 spot in the West took a big hit with the current three-game losing streak, which includes a 121-118 setback at New Orleans on Wednesday that leaves them well behind the eighth-place Portland Trail Blazers. That marked the opener of a five-game road trip for Dallas, which plays six of its final eight games on the road.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), FSN Southeast (Memphis)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (31-43): With its playoff hopes dwindling, Dallas is starting to set itself up for next season and is building a strong core around Harrison Barnes, Seth Curry, Nerlens Noel and Yogi Ferrell. Noel is providing a defensive presence next to future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki in the frontcourt while Curry and Barnes emerged this season as go-to scorers. Ferrell, who signed a two-year contract after a strong start with the team in February, is 14-of-22 from 3-point range over the last five games.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (41-34): Conley exploded for 36 points on 13-of-21 shooting, including 7-of-12 from 3-point range, while adding six assists and four steals in Wednesday's win. "My mindset was it was a must win and I just wanted to make a statement not with my team, with just the coaches and the city, that we’re not playing the basketball we need to be playing right now and we are better than this," Conley told reporters. "That it means something. That it means more. Just wanted to be aggressive, and the shot was falling early and I took advantage of that." Memphis sits 2 1/2 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder in the race for the No. 6 seed in the West.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Mavericks signed rookie F Jarrod Uthoff to a multi-year deal on Wednesday.
2. Grizzlies C Marc Gasol (foot) missed the last three games and is day-to-day.
3. Dallas took four of the last five in the series but dropped an 80-64 decision in its last trip to Memphis on Nov. 18.