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Grizzlies snap long slide against lowly Wizards

Feb 3, 2009 - 4:12 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- O.J. Mayo scored 33 points and Marc Gasol added 22 and 11 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 113-97 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday, snapping a 12-game losing streak.

Rudy Gay added 23 points and Mike Conley chipped in 14 for the Grizzlies, who reached a season high in points on 49 percent shooting (40-of-81).

Memphis took over in the third quarter, closing the period on a 19-2 run to take a 94-81 lead into the fourth.

It was the first win after three losses for new coach Lionel Hollins, who began his third stint as the Grizzlies' coach a week ago.

"They haven't lost 12 in a row with me," Hollins said. "It's a new start for them and their spirit is up."

After JaVale McGee's dunk gave the Wizards a 79-75 edge, Greg Buckner hit a 3-pointer and split a pair of free throws to knot the game at 79-79. Mayo then converted four straight free throws as the Grizzlies grabbed the lead for good.

"We got the monkey off our back, definitely," said Mayo, who equaled his career high in points. "Twelve-game losing streak, I've never experienced anything like that before in my life."

Gay scored nine straight points before Darius Miles capped the third quarter with a dunk.

"We finished out that quarter strong," Gay said. "We haven't been doing that for the most part this year, and it's always more comfortable going into the fourth quarter with a lead."

Mayo and Gasol combined for 10 points over the final five minutes to keep Memphis comfortably ahead.

Antawn Jamison collected 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards, who now own the worst record in the NBA at 10-38.

"That was the worst effort I've seen us give since I've been here," Washington interim Ed Tapscott said. "There wasn't any hustle. There wasn't any life. That was just a very, very poor effort."

Caron Butler added 21 points and five assists but committed six turnovers. Washington dominated on the glass, 47-39, but finished with 17 turnovers to the Grizzlies' eight.

Butler didn't necessarily agree with Tapscott's observations.

"That's what he saw," Butler said. "Right now is not the time to criticize. Everybody's hurt. This is the time to build the team up as much as possible."