Warriors-Grizzlies Preview

4/3/2008 2:49 PM

By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA
STATS Senior Writer

The Golden State Warriors haven't lost consecutive games often this season, thanks in part to three matchups with the lowly Memphis Grizzlies.

Losers of two straight for just the second time since November, the Warriors look to follow up a defeat with a win over the Grizzlies for the fourth time this season Friday night.

Golden State (45-30), one game behind Denver for eighth place in the Western Conference, is going through a rare slump at a bad time. The Warriors have dropped two in a row for only the second time since losing their first six games of the season, when Stephen Jackson was suspended.

Golden State has also matched a season high with three straight road losses.

"It's mandatory that we win the rest of them," Jackson said of the Warriors' remaining games. "We don't want to wait around for other teams to lose."

Matchups with Memphis (20-55) have helped Golden State bounce back from losses three times this season. The Warriors have won six straight against the Grizzlies since a 144-135 defeat Jan. 3, 2007.

Golden State has reached the 100-point mark in each game of its winning streak against Memphis. The Warriors, though, have been held under triple digits in their last two games after hitting the mark in their previous 37 contests.

Jackson, one of three Golden State players averaging at least 19.9 points, was held to two on 1-of-11 shooting in a 111-86 loss to Dallas on Wednesday night. Guards Monta Ellis and Baron Davis accounted for more than half of the Warriors' points, combining for 47.

Davis is averaging 20.3 points, 11.3 assists and 2.0 steals in three games versus Memphis this season. The Grizzlies have had little trouble scoring in those games, averaging 109.3 points.

Memphis is coming off its best offensive performance of the season, beating New York 130-114 on Wednesday night. The Grizzlies shot 60.0 percent (48-for-80) from the field, reaching that mark for just the fifth time in franchise history.

Javaris Crittenton scored a season-high 23 points and Rudy Gay added 21 to lead Memphis. Michael Conley finished with 18 points and Juan Carlos Navarro had 16.

It was the first time rookies Crittenton, Conley and Navarro all scored more than 10 points in the same game.

"That is something we have to keep building and hopefully in the future we will do that against the teams who are solidly configured," Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni said.

Crittenton, picked up in the trade that sent Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers, has reached double figures in scoring in three of his last six games.

"I can get people involved and I can score," said the 6-foot-5 guard, picked 19th overall in last year's draft. "I can rebound. I'm just trying to show my all-around game."

Crittenton is a player to build around for Memphis, which is two wins shy of last season's NBA-worst total.