Grizzlies nail down playoff spot with win
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Behind 28 points from Mike Conley and 22 from Zach Randolph, the Memphis Grizzlies clinched their seventh straight playoff berth Friday night with a 99-90 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at FedExForum.
The Grizzlies (42-34) secured the playoff trip with a combination of their victory and Denver's 122-114 loss at Charlotte. Dallas (31-44) dropped its fourth straight but not without nearly erasing a 15-point, fourth-quarter deficit.
Dirk Nowitzki finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Mavericks but went 3 of 17 from the field, including 1 of 6 from beyond the arc.
The Grizzlies own the third-longest active streak in the league for consecutive playoff appearances.
Troy Daniels came off the Memphis bench to connect on seven 3-pointers for his 21 points. Randolph added 12 rebounds for a double-double.
Memphis led 83-68 early in the fourth quarter, but Dallas chipped away behind a late barrage of back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers by Nowitzki, J.J. Barea and Wesley Matthews to trim the Grizzlies' lead to 94-90 with 1:08 to go.
Conley made five free throws in the final 30 seconds to preserve the victory.
Cold shooting by the Mavericks created too big a deficit to overcome.
The Mavericks made only 2 of 18 shots from the field in the second quarter (two driving dunks by Harrison Barnes) to fall behind by 21 (55-34) at the break.
At the end of the first quarter, Memphis led 21-19 but quickly pulled away. The Grizzlies scored the first 11 points of the second quarter, a run capped by a Wade Baldwin layup.
Memphis stretched its lead to 21 points late in the quarter when Daniels dropped in the last of his four first-half 3-pointers for a 46-25 advantage.
Dallas shot only 22.2 percent from the field in the opening half and was outrebounded 28-18. Nowitzki led the Mavs with eight first-half points but was only 2-of-9 shooting.
NOTES: Grizzlies C Marc Gasol missed his fourth straight game with a left foot strain. His status is day to day. ... Mavs G Devin Harris was fined $25,000 after his aggressive actions toward referee Ben Taylor in Wednesday's 121-118 loss at New Orleans. Harris was issued two technical fouls early in the second quarter and had to be restrained by teammates after being ejected by Taylor. ... The Grizzlies recalled F Jarell Martin from Iowa, their D-League affiliate, before the game and placed G Andrew Harrison (ankle) on the inactive list. Martin has appeared in 22 games for the Engery and averaged 15.9 points and 7.5 rebounds. ... A 3-pointer late in the second quarter by Troy Daniels gave the Grizzlies 700 for the season, the first time in franchise history they have reached that number.