Grizzlies at Jazz
The Memphis Grizzlies are defending at a high level and operating efficiently on offense, leading to wins in four of the last five games. The Utah Jazz, who host the Grizzlies on Friday, are trying to ride the same path up the standings and are returning home after stumbling at the end of a four-game road trip.
The Grizzlies already own a 92-84 victory at Utah this season from Oct. 22, which marked their lone road win in three chances, and they are hoping another triumph can build the momentum necessary to thrive on a three-game trip that also visits Phoenix and Golden State. "We've got to pick it up on the road," Memphis guard Garrett Temple told reporters. "We're going to have a chance to try to figure it out in our game against Utah. We found a way to win there last time. They're not going to lay down this time, they're going to want revenge." The Jazz were torched by 50 points from former MVP Derrick Rose in a 128-125 loss at Minnesota on Wednesday, denying them a perfect road trip. "He had it going, he was confident," Utah forward Jae Crowder told reporters of Rose. "He was hitting pull-up jumpers, he was confident getting into the paint. We just gotta find a way - good teams always find a way to win games like this. We’re building, we’re trying, and we got a lot more games to go."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Memphis), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (4-2): Memphis pulled out a 107-95 win over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday by using a small lineup with four guards surrounding center Marc Gasol. The plethora of ball handlers helped the Grizzlies record 28 assists on 36 made field goals in Tuesday's triumph. "The more skill you put on the floor, the more things that you can do," Memphis coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters. "The more guys that can dribble, pass and shoot it, you can create for one another. The space is great, they you throw in a stretch five who really opens up the lane."
ABOUT THE JAZZ (4-3): Utah prefers to spark its offense by working hard on the defensive end but allowed the Timberwolves to shoot 58.1 percent from the floor in Wednesday's loss. "We got stops. We didn’t get stops the whole game," Jazz center Rudy Gobert told reporters. "Whenever we started to get stops, we got some life. You could feel it - the ball started moving, we stopped turning it over, and we scored pretty easily. The offense was pretty good tonight. we just gotta be able to get stops." Gobert did his part by adding three blocks to his 22 points and 13 rebounds - his seventh double-double in as many games to start the season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Grizzlies reserve PG Shelvin Mack recorded season highs of 14 points and eight assists on Tuesday.
2. Jazz SG Donovan Mitchell left Wednesday's game in the fourth quarter with hamstring tightness and is questionable.
3. Utah SG Alec Burks (hand) sat out the last two games and is day-to-day.