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Grizzlies continue playoff push with Philly in town

Apr 11, 2014 - 2:39 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Memphis Grizzlies have four games remaining to make a case for a playoff spot and will welcome the Philadelphia 76ers to town Friday for a showdown at FedExForum.

The Grizzlies are a game behind the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks for the seventh spot in the West and two games in back of the Golden State Warriors for the No. 6 seed.

Memphis will try to extend its home winning streak to 13 games versus the 76ers and recorded a 107-102 victory over LeBron James and the two-time defending champion Miami Heat on Wednesday. James' 37 points on 14-of-23 shooting weren't enough.

Zach Randolph countered with 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Marc Gasol muscled his way to 20 points and 14 boards for the Grizzlies, who have rotated results in the past six games. Mike Conley led Memphis with 26 points.

"We're playing for something. We're trying to get a spot. This is momentum for us," said Randolph, who is fifth in the NBA with 45 double-doubles. "We have four games left, and we have to take one game at a time."

The last time Memphis lost at home was Feb. 5 versus the Mavericks.

Memphis will visit the Los Angeles Lakers and Suns before closing out the regular season at home with the Mavericks.

Philadelphia has lost two in a row and four of five games since snapping an NBA record-tying 26-game losing streak.

The 76ers opened a three-game road trip with Wednesday's 125-114 loss to the playoff-bound Toronto Raptors, as Henry Sims scored 22 points and Rookie of the Year candidate Michael Carter-Williams ended with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Carter-Williams is averaging 19.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists in his last six games, and leads all rookies with 16.7 points, 6.3 assists and 6.1 boards this season.

"I think he's learned to take a system and get comfortable on how to maximize it for himself and the team," Sixers coach Brett Brown said of Carter- Williams' growth. "He was close again to a triple-double and I think he had a good game."

James Anderson and Thaddeus Young scored 17 and 16 points, respectively, for the Sixers, who shot 52 percent for the game and fell to 8-30 on the road. The Sixers ended a 13-game road slide with a 111-102 victory at Boston last Friday.

Philadelphia hasn't posted a winning road mark since going 23-18 in 2002-03.

The Sixers will visit Charlotte on Saturday, then will host Boston before closing the season next week at Miami.

Memphis defeated Philly by a 103-77 score at Wells Fargo Center on March 15 and was led by Conley's 19 points. Carter-Williams tallied 23 points and eight rebounds in that one for the 76ers, losers in five of the last six meetings between the teams.

These two teams have split the last 10 meetings at Memphis.