MEMPHIS, Tenn. —Tony Allen is solidifying his reputation one of the NBA’s premier perimeter defenders.
Former teammate O.J. Mayo already knew that, but got a firsthand look
at what Allen can do to a team’s leading scorer in the Memphis
Grizzlies’ 92-82 victory against Dallas on Friday night.
Mayo, who entered the game averaging 20.2 points, managed only a free
throw in the first half, ended the night shooting 3 of 11 from the
field and scored 10 points. Wednesday night, Allen held Milwaukee
scoring leader Monta Ellis to a single field goal on 14 attempts.
“I treat it as a regular opponent as if he was a Kobe or a LeBron or
what have you,” Allen said about mindset against Mayo. “I just treated
it regular and studied him. ... I sat here quiet. Didn’t really talk to
my teammates before the game. I was just focused at doing the task at
hand because he’d been on fire.”
Rudy Gay scored 26 points, and Zach Randolph had 17 points and 13
rebounds to help the Grizzlies win their fourth straight game. Marc
Gasol added 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Allen finished with 10
points.
Mike Conley had 11 assists to become the franchise leader with 2,079.
He surpassed Jason Williams, who had 2,069, with 7:54 left in the first
quarter on an alley-oop pass to Gay.
Shawn Marion and Vince Carter led the Mavericks with 14 points
apiece, and Marion also had 11 rebounds. Dominique Jones had 13 points
and seven assists, and Brandan Wright added 12 points.
Mayo, who played his first four years for the Grizzlies before
signing with Dallas in the offseason, was the focus of the Grizzlies
defensive approach. Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said the game plan was
to make sure Allen had Mayo throughout. Hollins said he didn’t want Mayo
to get on track to help carry the Mavericks, and to accomplish that,
Allen went out every time Mayo rested, and returned with the Mavericks
leading scorer. The result was Allen playing a season-high 38 minutes.
“I told Tony: ‘You’re going to guard him whenever he is in the
game,’” Hollins recounted. “O.J. is a big catalyst of that team. He’s
their leading scorer. They go around him to get in the flow, which
allows the other guys to get in the flow. .They had some other people
score, but it wasn’t the same as when he is playing.”
Dallas never led, and Memphis built a 17-point advantage in the third quarter.
The Mavericks suffered through 24 turnovers leading to 29 Memphis
points, and the Grizzlies’ 17 offensive rebounds contributed to a 22-9
advantage in second-chance points. Part of that could have been the
result of Dallas playing the second night of a back-to-back after losing
to Miami on Thursday, and the injuries that the Mavericks are
suffering.
“I was very pleased,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said about his
team’s play. “We were undermanned, coming off of a late night
back-to-back. The guys really hung in and gave what they could give. I
was really happy with how everybody fought. There’s not much consolation
when you lose, but the effort was good.”
Memphis, which led by a dozen in the first half, dealt with a Dallas
rally that cut the Grizzlies’ advantage to 40-39 at intermission. Gay
had 10 for Memphis, while Carter had nine points for Dallas.
Mayo missed all four of his shots in the half as Allen clamped on the
defense. Mayo managed only a free throw in the closing seconds of the
half. He said it wasn’t just Allen, but the way the Grizzlies were
helping on defense, concentrating on him.
“It was not intimidating,” Mayo said of the defense and returning to
Memphis. “It was just a little different obviously. They know my
tendencies. It was pretty much O.J. was not getting anything, and (we)
had to get other guys to make some plays.”
Neither team shot particularly well in the first half — Dallas
connecting on 34 percent, while Memphis was shooting at a 38 percent
clip. Memphis missed all five of its shots from beyond the arc, and
Dallas was stymied by 13 turnovers, while the Grizzlies had eight
miscues.
Both teams would end the night shooting just better than 40 percent.
Mayo eventually hit his first field goal with 4:26 left in the third.
Dallas had tied it at 49 with just over 9 minutes left in the third,
but Memphis responded with 14 straight points, grabbing the first
double-digit lead of the game.
The lead eventually would reach 17 and Memphis carried a 69-57 advantage into the fourth.
Dallas pushed its offense, again with the reserves helping bring the
energy to open the final frame. It translated to a 14-2 run spanning the
third and fourth periods as the Mavericks went with a smaller lineup in
hope of offsetting the Grizzlies inside presence.
“We just couldn’t get over the hump,” Marion said. “We were out there
scratching and clawing, climbing he hill, but we couldn’t get over.
Sometimes it happens like that.”
The Mavericks kept pushing their offense spreading out the scoring to pull to 76-73 near the midway point of the fourth.
Gay and Randolph converted a pair of 3-point plays to stretch the
lead back to 82-73. Then a dunk by Gay took the lead to double digits.
The Mavericks would pull within five points, but could get no closer the rest of the way, losing their fifth in the last six.
As for his defensive effort, Allen said with the rest of the Grizzlies starters, it’s his niche in the Memphis lineup.
“You’ve got to look at it like this: sitting next to Rudy Gay, Mike
Conley, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, they’re going to fill up the
scoring,” Allen said. “I’ve just got to be that glue guy who (does) the
intangibles. Who do the things that are not expected from those guys.
That’s my role, and I want to fulfill it to the best of the ability I
can.”
NOTES: Mayo was not the only returning former
Grizzly returning to Memphis. Like Mayo, Mavs F Dahntay Jones played his
first four years in the league for the Grizzlies. ... Brandan Wright,
who missed Thursday’s game against Miami with a sprained right ankle,
returned to action against Memphis. Elton Brand missed his third
straight game with a right groin strain for Dallas. ... Dallas’ Darren
Collison left the game with an “illness” according the injury report. He
didn’t return.
Spurs 99, Hornets 94: In San Antonio, a home game was exactly what the weary San Antonio Spurs needed.
Tony Parker scored 25 points and Tim Duncan had 15 points and 10
rebounds as the Spurs beat the skidding New Orleans Hornets, 99-94, on
Friday night.
Back home after playing six of their past seven on the road, San
Antonio (19-9) got 13 points from Manu Ginobili and 12 from Boris Diaw
in snapping a two-game skid.
Top draft pick Anthony Davis had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead
New Orleans (5-21), which lost its 10th straight. Greivis Vasquez added
14 points, Ryan Anderson 12 and Brian Roberts 11.
Aided by a couple days of rest and a healthy roster, the Spurs fought off a late rally by the Hornets.
Kawhi Leonard had eight points, two rebounds, two steals and an
assist after missing a month with a knee injury. Stephen Jackson added
five points in his second game back from a broken finger.
“It was great to be back (at home), and it is going to take a little
time getting used to having those guys back,” Duncan said. “A lot of
adjustments right now, but it is good to be home and good to have
everybody back to full strength.”
The depth was evident in the second quarter when eight players scored
as San Antonio went on a 19-9 run to build its largest lead. Parker’s
layup gave the Spurs a 52-36 lead with 3 minutes left in the first half.
Leonard made a 3-pointer during the run, scoring on his only attempt a minute after entering the game for the first time.
“I’ve been very anxious to play basketball,” Leonard said. “I just
took my time with the injury. I didn’t want it to pop back up during the
season, so I just took the time out to get better.
“I’ve been conditioning for two weeks, so I felt great.”
Leonard’s return allowed Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to limit
everyone’s playing time, which proved critical in the final quarter.
New Orleans outscored San Antonio 33-27 in the fourth, including a
jumper by Roger Mason that pulled the Hornets to 84-80 midway through
the period.
But that was as close as the young Hornets came.
“The one thing that happens in a situation like that is you use so
much energy to get back in the game that when you cut it to four, six or
even tie it up, it’s just tough,” New Orleans coach Monty Williams
said. “That’s when you need a couple of guys who have been there and
done that, who can get the ball at the end of games and draw a foul or
get to the basket.”
The Spurs have that player in Parker, who cut through the Hornets’
defense for a driving layup following Mason’s jumper. Nando De Colo
followed with a 10-foot jumper and San Antonio went on a 9-4 run to
regain control of the game.
“Tony has been doing that all season,” Popovich said. “He is having a
great year. He really feels the responsibility down the stretch in
games to get something done. If we are a little bit flat or not making
shots, that kind of thing, he has stepped up and been very confident in
those situations.”
The late rally was in contrast to a sloppy start. The teams were tied
4-all after the opening 4 minutes, going a combined 4 for 15 from the
field with three turnovers.
Davis and Duncan both seemed to enjoy their second meeting of the
season. Duncan spun and dunked on Davis with 7 minutes left in the first
half as the Hornets rookie attempted to crowd the veteran All-Star on
the low block.
With 5 minutes left in the game, Davis attempted to shoot after a
whistle had stopped play, but Duncan started grabbing the rookie’s shirt
and held his arms down in jest as both smiled.
NOTES: The last time San Antonio had its entire
roster available was Nov. 15, when the Spurs lost 104-100 at home to the
New York Knicks. ... San Antonio has played 17 road games, the most of
any team in the NBA this season. ... Hornets guard Eric Gordon (right
knee) and big man Jason Smith (shoulder sprain) sat out.
http://amarillo.com/sports/2012-12-21/grizzlies-take-down-mavericks-92-82
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