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Streaking Grizzlies kick off road trip vs. Warriors

Jan 23, 2012 - 3:48 PM (Sports Network) - The surging Memphis Grizzlies will kick off a four-game western road trip tonight against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena.

Memphis has ripped off a season-high six straight wins and will also visit the Trail Blazers, Clippers and Suns. It is 3-4 as the visitor this season and kept its winning ways intact with a 128-95 blowout of Sacramento on Beale Street Saturday night behind Rudy Gay's 23 points, four assists and four steals.

Mike Conley netted a season-high 22 points, O.J. Mayo also had 22 points and Marc Gasol added 20 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, which moved to 8-3 since All-Star forward Zach Randolph went down on January 1 with a torn MCL. Randolph is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks of action for a Grizzlies squad rising the longest winning streak since a seven-game run from March 14-26, 2006.

"I thought Mike (Conley) carried us the first half. Then Juice (O.J. Mayo) got going, and then Marc (Gasol) got going and then Rudy (Gay) got going. They just keep bouncing back and forward. We won the rebounding battle, and had 27 assists. There is not a lot more you can say about that game from an overall perspective. It was just a total team win," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said.

The Grizzlies will have to slow down Golden State's Monta Ellis if they want to keep their winning streak intact since the talented guard has scored 25 or more points in back-to-back contests, including a 25-point effort in a 94-91 loss versus the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

The game had a bit of controversy at the end, as Pacers guard George Hill kicked the ball away from Ellis in the final seconds and recorded a three- point play at the other end.

"It was a tough missed call," Warriors head coach Mark Jackson said. "Clearly he kicked the basketball. But at the end of the day you don't blame the refs, you blame our team."

Dorell Wright and Stephen Curry tallied 18 and 12 points, respectively, for the Warriors, who kicked off a six-game homestand in losing fashion and lost for the ninth time in 12 tries. David Lee posted his ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and 14 boards in a losing cause, while Wright has scored in double figures six games in a row.

Curry was back in action after missing eight games with a sprained right ankle. The Warriors seek their first Western Conference win tonight (0-5) and will also host Portland, Oklahoma City, Sacramento and Utah on the residency.

Golden State is 3-5 in Oakland this season and 10-7 in the past 17 meetings with the Grizzlies, who have lost three straight and seven of nine games as the visitor in this series.