Shooting Woes Sink Mavs in Memphis

The Dallas Mavericks may start dreading coming to Memphis.

Zach Randolph had 24 points and 15 rebounds, and O.J. Mayo added 25 points to help the Memphis Grizzlies beat Dallas 98-82 on Friday night.

The victory marked the third straight loss for Dallas in Memphis, and the 82 points was a season low for the Mavericks.

Dallas, which shot 58 percent Wednesday night against New Jersey, including 81 percent in the first half, shot a season-low 35.2 against the Grizzlies.

"I just think our body language was really soft," said Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds, but was 7 of 22 from the floor. "I think we had good looks. We didn't set picks, but we got some good shots we usually like. The overall energy and body language wasn't great."

Rudy Gay added 18 points for the Grizzlies, who won their second straight. Mike Conley finished with 10 points. Memphis shot 46 percent on the night, but was 9 of 17 outside the arc for 53 percent.

"We haven't been a 3-point shooting team," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "Dallas went zone on us because they figured they could take away our inside points. But we attacked it just enough where they couldn't stay in it."

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Jason Terry led Dallas with 18 points, while Jason Kidd had 13 points and seven assists. Nowitzki's 16 points snapped his streak of 14 straight games with at least 20 points.

Memphis led by 20 in the fourth period, leading the Dallas starters to the bench in the final minutes.

"It seems like everything we did out there was kind of lethargic," said Dallas forward Shawn Marion, who was limited to four points, but grabbed 11 rebounds.

Memphis led by 13 in the first half before carrying a 58-51 lead into the locker room.

Dallas didn't come close to maintaining the shooting pace it had against New Jersey, hitting 44 percent before halftime.

Memphis, meanwhile, was shooting the better percentage, hitting 54 percent, as Mayo connected on his first sic shots en route to 17 points in the half. Randolph added 16, hitting 7 of his 10 shots.

Nowitzki had 10 to lead the Mavericks, although he was 4 of 12 from the field.

The Mavericks held a 6-point lead early in the second period when Memphis scored 17 straight points for its first double-digit lead.

"We didn't defend well enough at the beginning of the game or really at any point or any stretch of the game," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "They were shooting around 60 percent most of the first half, and it was a cycle we never were able to withstand. ... You definitely can't win on the road playing like that."

NOTES: Mavericks G/F Quinton Ross, who played for Memphis last season, missed his sixth game with tightness in his lower back. Officials reviewed Mayo's shot at 10:18 of the second quarter, changing it from the original call of a 2-point basket to a 3-pointer. Later in the quarter, they would check to see where Kidd's feet were on the 3-point line when he was fouled by the Grizzlies Sam Young. They ruled Kidd's feet were on the line, giving him two shots. Memphis, which played 12 of its first 19 on the road, is 5-3 at home. There was only one foul called on either team in the fourth quarter an offensive foul on Grizzlies G Jamaal Tinsley with 10:49 left in the game. ... The Mavericks hit all 10 of their free throws in the first half, and didn't go to the line in the second half. ... The Mavericks previous low shooting percentage on the year was Nov. 11 against San Antonio when they shot 35.4 percent. ... The 16-point loss matched the season's worst for Dallas. The Mavericks lost 111-95 at Cleveland on Nov. 28.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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