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Grizzlies-Mavericks Preview

Dec 25, 2009 - 7:45 PM By DAN PIERINGER STATS Editor

Memphis (13-15) at Dallas (20-9), 3:00 p.m. EDT

It's not uncommon to find the Dallas Mavericks at the top of the Southwest Division and the Memphis Grizzlies at the bottom of it. Though that's again the case as the teams enter their second meeting of the season, the gap between them is rarely this narrow.

The Grizzlies go for their season-high fourth straight win - and their unprecedented fourth in a row over the Mavericks - as the clubs meet Saturday in Dallas.

The Mavericks (20-9) are on pace for their 10th straight 50-win season and second division title in four years, while Memphis (13-15) is in the Southwest cellar and in danger of its fourth consecutive last-place finish.

However, the Grizzlies are 7-3 this month and have won 12 of 19 since a 1-8 start. They beat Golden State 121-108 on Tuesday night for their 13th win, a mark they didn't reach until their 48th game last season, on Feb. 4.

"It's good for us because last year we didn't get a lot of wins in December," second-year guard O.J. Mayo said. "Right now, we are rolling. It shows improvement from our team, and I think everyone is happy going into the holidays."

Zach Randolph had 33 points and 18 rebounds against the Warriors, and Marc Gasol added 22 points and nine boards as Memphis outscored Golden State 72-48 in the paint.

The Grizzlies lead the league with 52.2 paint points per game largely because of Randolph, averaging 30.3 points and 19.3 rebounds during the team's three-game winning streak. He has averaged 19.6 points and a career-high 11.0 boards overall in his first season with Memphis.

"It just feels good," forward Rudy Gay said. "We're on a roll. Everybody is pretty much flowing as a team. (Randolph) is going for us. Basically, our frontcourt is dominating."

Randolph had 24 points and 15 boards, and Mayo added 25 points with five 3-pointers as the Grizzlies won their first meeting with the Mavericks 98-82 on Dec. 4. It was Memphis' third straight win in a series historically dominated by Dallas, which won 46 of the first 53 matchups - and each of the previous 13 - before its current skid.

Despite their recent struggles against the Grizzlies, however, the Mavericks haven't had any problems beating them at home. They're 24-4 all-time against Memphis in Dallas, with 16 wins in the last 17 meetings.

The Mavericks couldn't capitalize on their home-court advantage Tuesday night, shooting 38.8 percent in an 85-81 loss to Portland.

Despite the defeat, Dallas was happy to have star forward Dirk Nowitzki back in the lineup after he missed the previous game. Nowitzki was injured Dec. 18 in a nasty collision with Houston's Carl Landry during an overtime loss to the Rockets. He had two of Landry's teeth embedded in his elbow and needed extensive treatment to clean the wound.

Despite having heavy padding on the wound, Nowitzki had 27 points and nine rebounds in his return.

"I felt pretty good," he said. "I wasn't worried about getting the ball up and shooting, but I was worried about hitting it while I was boxing out."

Nowitzki was held to 16 points on 7-of-22 shooting in the December meeting with Memphis. In his previous 13 games against the Grizzlies, he shot 53.3 percent while scoring at least 20 in each.