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 The Grizzlies (14-17) also whipped the Suns in Memphis on Dec. 3.
Other than the two losses to the Grizzlies, the Suns lost only two
other games over the past month.
Forward Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies with 20 points and 15
rebounds.
Suns guard Goran Dragic scored a career-high 33 points and added
seven assists.
"Memphis is not a good matchup for us," Dragic said. "They have a
lot of big guys under the rim, and they attack the paint."
The Suns (19-12) played without guard Eric Bledsoe, who was a late
scratch because of a right knee sprain. Gerald Green started in his
place and scored nine points.
The lineup change took away the Suns' chief advantage: the ability
to play their dual-point-guard backcourt of Bledsoe and Dragic.
Grizzlies guard Mike Conley, noting the battle of wills in
establishing the teams' preferred tempos, said, "It's tough to play
at that pace. They practice that way. They play that way. It's not
our style."
The Grizzlies shut down the Suns' 3-point game (Phoenix shot just
8-for-30 from long range) while running up a monstrous 54-15
advantage in bench scoring. Memphis got key contributions from
forward Ed Davis (8-for-11 for 16 points, plus 11 rebounds) and
guard Jerryd Bayless (17 points, including 11 in the fourth
quarter).
The Grizzlies ran up a 57-44 lead early in the third quarter. The
Suns then took off on an 18-0 run thanks to a series of driving
layups, steals fast breaks, a spurt led by Dragic and forward P.J.
Tucker.
The surge gave the Suns a 62-57 lead, and they held a 73-69
advantage heading into the final quarter. "We knew they'd make a run," Davis said. "We just had to
withstand it and make a last push."
They did just that.
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The Grizzlies went on a 13-2 run to start the fourth, capped by
a whirling fast-break layup by Davis that gave them an 82-75
lead. Moments later, Bayless nailed a 3-pointer to give Memphis
a 94-84 lead. The Suns never threatened again.
Bayless, who played in high school just a couple of miles from
the Suns' arena, joked, "A fan said that I had disgraced St.
Mary's (High School). That hurt my feelings. That got me going a
little."
Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said, "They ran downhill on
us....But I thought our guys showed a lot of character ... after
taking a serious punch ... (and got) a very impressive win on
the road."
After the Suns took a 26-22 lead after the first quarter, the
Grizzlies battered the Suns in the paint and took a 53-41
halftime lead. Thirty-eight of the Grizzlies' first-half points
came in the paint. Meanwhile, the Suns were misfiring from long
range, shooting just 2-for-11 on 3-pointers in the first half.
NOTES: After the Suns went 10-3 in December, the NBA selected
Jeff Hornacek as the Western Conference's coach of the month. "I
take it as a team award," Hornacek said. He became the first
person to win coach and player honors for the same franchise. He
was named player of the month for the Suns in December 1991. ...
The Grizzlies defeated the Suns 110-91 on Dec. 3 in Phoenix.
That sent the Suns to a season-worst 9-9. Phoenix won 10 of its
next 13 games. ... The Suns came into the game 28-7 all-time vs.
the Grizzlies in Phoenix, their best home winning percentage
(.800) against any opponent. ... The Grizzlies acknowledge they
are different than many teams in the generally high-scoring,
up-tempo West. "We are kind of the knuckleball," coach Dave
Joerger said. "We are built differently. We have to try to play
from a lead." ... The Grizzlies continue to play without injured
C Marc Gasol.
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