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Conley, Gasol help Grizzlies snap losing skid

Dec 28, 2014 - 5:15 AM Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Conley scored 24 points and led the Memphis Grizzlies to a 103-95 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday.

Marc Gasol had a productive game, scoring 22 points with 10 rebounds to help the Grizzlies snap a season-high four-game losing streak.

"When you are on a losing streak, it's easy to find excuses, but I thought that we worked extra hard and gave the extra effort to pull away from the losing streak," Gasol said.

Beno Udrih and Tayshaun Prince went for 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Memphis, which played without Zach Randolph (knee) for a fourth straight game.

Dwyane Wade, coming off a 31-point outing on Christmas Day in a win against LeBron James and the Cavs, scored 25 points with seven assists. Danny Granger tallied 18 points off the bench and Luol Deng added 16 for the Heat, who have lost two of their last three and have not won back-to-back games since Nov. 22-23.

"Just couldn't get over the hump and couldn't stop fouling in the fourth. But it was extremely competitive in the second half," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Miami cut the deficit to one on a few occasions in the fourth, but it could not break through. Prince knocked down a pair of free throws, then Conley converted a floater to make it a 93-86 game with 2:54 left.

The Heat would not go away, though. Mario Chalmers supplied a three-point play and Chris Andersen followed with two free throws to trim the deficit to two. Chalmers missed a wide open 3-pointer after two free throws from Gasol, but Wade picked him up the next time down the floor with a driving basket with 53.8 seconds left.

Gasol and Conley each made a pair of free throws to maintain a four-point lead, then Gasol came up with a big block of Chalmers that essentially sealed it in the closing seconds.

Wade scored six points during a 23-5 surge in the third that cut a 19-point deficit to 65-64 with 3:25 left in the period. Udrih built the lead to 72-66 with five straight points late prior to Deng's 3 that closed the scoring in the third.

Conley scored seven points over the first few minutes of the first quarter to help Memphis jump out to a 13-4 lead. He then hit a 3-pointer later in the frame as part of an 8-0 run that pushed the margin to 13 and the Grizzlies led 27-16 after 12 minutes.

"I wanted to get going early," Conley said. "I just wanted to see something go in and it kind of got me going."

Miami cut the deficit to six with under five minutes left in the second following a pair of free throws from Granger, but Memphis locked down on defense in the closing minutes. Conley and Gasol combined for 12 points during a 14-6 run over the final 3:17 of the half. Conley's trey just before the buzzer gave the Grizzlies a 57-41 edge at the break.

Game Notes

Wade hit 18,000 points for his career with a short floater with under six minutes left in the second quarter ... Memphis swept the two-game season series and has won five of its last seven in the series ... Heat forward Chris Bosh missed his eighth straight game with a left calf strain ... Miami wraps up its seven-game homestand on Monday against Orlando ... The Grizzlies scored 18 points off turnovers ... Miami shot 51 percent from the floor.