Conley Leads Grizzlies Past Timberwolves

by heop234iud on 2009-12-06 20:37:42

MINNEAPOLIS -- Mike Conley scored a season-high 20 points and Rudy Gay scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half to help the Memphis Grizzlies rally for a 97-95 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. Zach Randolph added 20 points, and O.J. Mayo had 17 for Memphis (7-12) in a game between the teams that entered the night with the two worst records in the Western Conference. Ryan Gomes led Minnesota (2-16) with 20 points, and Ramon Sessions had 16.

With the game tied at 88 with less than 5 minutes to play, Gay scored consecutive baskets. His transition layup with 4 minutes left - which came on a pass from Conley - gave Memphis a 92-88 lead. Al Jefferson, who was held to 12 points, cut the Memphis lead to two, 94-92, with a pair of free throws with 2:08 to play. After Randolph stretched the Memphis lead to 96-92, Gomes hit a 3-pointer that cut the lead to one. Both teams missed key free throws in the final seconds. When Mayo missed the second free throw with 10.8 seconds to play, Minnesota had a final chance. With the Wolves down 97-95, Sessions drove to the basket and was fouled with 1.8 seconds to play. Needing to make both free throws to tie the game, he missed the first free throw and the Timberwolves couldn’t secure the rebound of the intentional miss. Memphis limited Minnesota to only two field goals in the final 4 minutes.

Conley and Gay showed just how important they are to the Grizzlies as both missed Monday night’s loss at Utah. Gay was attending a family funeral while Conley was out with a left shoulder injury. With Memphis trailing the Timberwolves by eight midway through the third quarter, Gay scored six points in a 15-5 run that gave the Grizzlies their first lead of the night. Conley’s production came as something of a surprise. Less than 90 minutes before the game it was unclear whether the third-year guard would even be cleared to play because of the shoulder injury. The Memphis staff wanted to see how Conley fared in early warmups before making a decision on his availability.

After a strong start to the game, Minnesota was sloppy with the ball in the second half as the Timberwolves tried to win two consecutive games for the first time since last season. Minnesota turned the ball over nine times after halftime. After shooting 56.8 percent from the floor, the Timberwolves led 55-47 at halftime. While he played less than 12 minutes in the half after picking up a pair of early fouls, Gomes made all five of his first-half field goal attempts and led Minnesota with 12 points. Damien Wilkins, starting his second consecutive game, added 10 first-half points.

NOTES: The Timberwolves are expected to learn Thursday if forward Kevin Love will be medically cleared to return to full action. Love, who has not played this season after breaking a bone in his left hand in a preseason game, has begun participating in practice. Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said it is possible that Loves could return to action as soon as Friday at New Orleans. ... The game ends a stretch for Memphis in which the Grizzlies played 12 of their first 19 games on the road. The game completed a five-game trip.