The Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Phoenix Suns 109-100 at FedExForum on Sunday afternoon.
It was the first time since Dec. 9 that the Suns (17-46) have won consecutive games, and the second time they’ve topped the Grizzlies (37-25) in the past eight days.
A lot like the game in Phoenix on Feb. 27, the Grizzlies kept the Suns within in eyesight, never trailing by more than 13 points. A Lance Stephenson layup cut the lead to six at 104-98, but the Grizzlies were unable to get any closer.
Memphis was held to 40.0 percent shooting on the afternoon at a 32-80 clip, the Grizzlies’ worst percentage from the field since beating Boston on Jan. 10 (39.7 percent). The Suns knocked down 52.1 percent of their attempts (37-of-71).
The Grizz were also down another big-man as Chris Andersen exited the game midway through the second with a left shoulder injury. He left with five rebounds and had knocked down his only shot attempt in his nine minutes of action.
Mike Conley paced the Grizzlies with a 22-point performance on 7-of-13 shooting (53.8 percent), 17 of which came in the first half. He also led the team with four assists and added a pair of steals.
Matt Barnes started the game hot, knocking down five of his seven attempts (71.4 percent) in the opening half for 13 points. He finished with 17 points with four three pointers, five rebounds and three assists.
Coming off the bench, JaMychal Green also scored 17 points, which was a career-high for him. He got to the line 10 times and knocked down seven of the attempts and also pulled down five rebounds before fouling out. Mario Chalmers (14 points, three assists), and Lance Stephenson (13 points, five rebounds) also finished in double figures as reserves.
The Suns were led by young shooting guard Devin Booker, who finished with 27 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field (47.1 percent) and four three-pointers. He also hit all seven of his attempts from the charity stripe and dished out a game-high nine assists.
Alex Len and Tyson Chandler each recorded a points/rebounds double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds, and 16 points and 10 rebounds, respectively. Len also recorded six assists and a pair of blocks. — By: Jared Emerson
The Grizzlies head to Cleveland for a matchup against LeBron James and the Cavaliers on Monday, March 7. Tip-off is set for 6 pm and fans can catch the action on FOX Sports Southeast, or on the radio 92.9 ESPN Radio starting with Grizzlies Live! pregame shows at 5:30pm
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The Grizzlies will return to FedExForum on Friday, March 11 to face the Pelicans on Wrestling Night. The first 3k fans to arrive at the game will receive a Grizzlies Luchador Mask.
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— Coach Dave Joerger
— Coach Dave Joerger</strong
On the matchup I don’t think it’s a tough matchup for me. You know, they won one there and they got two of the wins and we’ve got one. So, we go out there again and play them in a couple of weeks. They’re a good team. — Zach Randolph On the upcoming road trip We’ve got to be ready. It’s going to be a good test to see where we are at tomorrow. — Zach Randolph</strong On defending against the Suns’ bigs They aren’t difficult, they just spread big, and they shoot. It’s tough when you’ve got guards that are attacking and hit the bigs late and they can hit that shot. They played well tonight. We’re going on to the next, and we’ll watch film and see what we did wrong. — Lance Stephenson On the upcoming game against the Celtics We’ve got to bring intensity. We’ve got to bring the defensive mentality. We’ve got to learn from our mistakes, and just take our weak game and learn from it. — Lance Stephenson Player Notes Mike Conley netted a team-high 22 points, his 18th 20-point performance of the season, and handed out a team-high four assists. Matt Barnes contributed 17 points, five rebounds and three assists on the night. From the bench, Mario Chalmers notched 14 points and dished out three assists, while JaMychal Green pulled down five rebounds to go along with a career-high 17 points, and Lance Stephenson scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. Alex Len recorded his 12th double-double of the season with 19 points and 16 rebounds… This marks his eighth straight game with 10+ points and fifth straight game with a double-double, both career longs. Devon Booker tallied 27 points and a game-high nine assists on the night… Among rookies, he ranks sixth in scoring average (11.1 points) and tied for eighth in assists per game (1.9). Tyson Chandler finished the game with a season-high 16 points to go with 10 rebounds… He ranks 24th among league leaders with 8.3 rebounds per game.
— Zach Randolph
— Zach Randolph</strong
On defending against the Suns’ bigs They aren’t difficult, they just spread big, and they shoot. It’s tough when you’ve got guards that are attacking and hit the bigs late and they can hit that shot. They played well tonight. We’re going on to the next, and we’ll watch film and see what we did wrong. — Lance Stephenson On the upcoming game against the Celtics We’ve got to bring intensity. We’ve got to bring the defensive mentality. We’ve got to learn from our mistakes, and just take our weak game and learn from it. — Lance Stephenson Player Notes Mike Conley netted a team-high 22 points, his 18th 20-point performance of the season, and handed out a team-high four assists. Matt Barnes contributed 17 points, five rebounds and three assists on the night. From the bench, Mario Chalmers notched 14 points and dished out three assists, while JaMychal Green pulled down five rebounds to go along with a career-high 17 points, and Lance Stephenson scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. Alex Len recorded his 12th double-double of the season with 19 points and 16 rebounds… This marks his eighth straight game with 10+ points and fifth straight game with a double-double, both career longs. Devon Booker tallied 27 points and a game-high nine assists on the night… Among rookies, he ranks sixth in scoring average (11.1 points) and tied for eighth in assists per game (1.9). Tyson Chandler finished the game with a season-high 16 points to go with 10 rebounds… He ranks 24th among league leaders with 8.3 rebounds per game.
— Lance Stephenson
— Lance Stephenson
