Memphis Grizzlies defeat the Dallas Mavericks 94-89; Take the season series - NBA Recap
On Saturday night at the FedExForum, Memphis, TN, Memphis Grizzlies won the third game of their season series against the Dallas Mavericks ending their stretch of 7 games in 9 nights with a win, 94-89. In this stretch, the Grizzlies
have defeated, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder and now the NBA Champions, Mavericks.
Rudy g*y scored a game high 25 points to lead the Grizzlies. Zach Randolph and Gilbert Arenas both came off the bench to score 15 and 14 points respectively. From the Mavericks side, Dirk Nowitzki was the leading scorer with 17
points. Vince Carter also chipped in well with 14 points. Brandan Wright came off the bench to add 16 points and Jason Terry added 12 points.
The opening quarter was a disaster for the Mavericks. In it, they only shoot 13 % from the field trailing the Grizzlies 10-29. Dallas did manage to shoot much better for the rest of the night as they were able to connect on 47%
of their shots for the remaining three quarters. But, having established an early foot hold into the contest, Grizzlies were leading at the break by 11 points, 50-39.
In the second half, Mavs looked like a completely different team. From the 6:20 mark to the 4:15 mark in the third period, Dallas went on a 7-1 run to cut down the advantage to only 1 point, 62-63. But in came, two of Memphis`s
strongest bench players, Arenas and Randolph to provide the much needed spark. Randolph provided the resistance from the inside where as Arenas did the damage with his outside shooting enabling the Grizzlies to regain a 5 point advantage going into the fourth
quarter.
In the final quarter of the match, Grizzlies bench continued to do the damage. While on the other hand Dallas stars like Nowitzki were finding it very hard to find their rhythm. Nowitzki ended the night with a 5 of 16 shooting
performance, a rather poor night by his standards.
Nevertheless, he did score the last 6 points for the Mavericks but it was not enough against the Memphis side who have continued to improve as the season has gone on.
Grizzlies who are not known for their three point shooting but with the addition of Gilbert Arenas into their roster, they have made a significant improvement in that department. Arenas connected on 3 of his 5 attempts from long
range on the night. Meanwhile Memphis who were the worst three point shooting team in the league have now improved from a 39% to be a 45% shooting team from beyond the arc.
The Mavericks currently occupy the second last playoff spot in the Western Conference and if there are any more slip ups, the defending champions might not even have the chance to defend their title.
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