Jazz at Grizzlies
The Utah Jazz are winners of four of their last five games and have been making things difficult for playoff contenders all season. The Jazz will try to make it three victories in a row when they open a four-game trip at the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. The Grizzlies sit in second place in the Western Conference but already have a home loss to lottery-bound Utah on their record and have dropped two of their last three games.
Memphis committed a season-high 24 turnovers and needed a go-ahead 3-pointer from Mike Conley at Minnesota on Saturday to avoid a third straight setback. “It is what it is. It's a tough week,” Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger told reporters. “We know we can play better. We found a way to get the win. It was a very ugly, ugly game probably from both side's point of view.” Utah is one of the few teams that can match Memphis’ size up front and is getting strong play from the combination of Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), SportSouth (Memphis)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (23-35): Utah has won six of its last eight games, including victories over playoff-hopefuls New Orleans, Portland, San Antonio and Milwaukee. The big improvement has come at the defensive end, where the Jazz are limiting opponents to an average of 82.8 points over the last five contests. Favors and Gobert combined for 22 rebounds, six blocked shots and five steals in the 82-75 win over Milwaukee on Saturday.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (42-16): Memphis struggled in the fourth quarter during losses to the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers last week but figured out a way to play strong down the stretch in Minnesota by leaning on All-Star Marc Gasol. “(Gasol) really got it in his mind at halftime and came out really strong in the second half,” Joerger told reporters. “When he's that guy, then everybody else can be in the role that they're supposed to be in. That's big time for us.” Gasol ended up with 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting after going 9-for-22 in the losses to Sacramento and Los Angeles.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Gobert has blocked at least three shots in six straight games.
2. Grizzlies G Vince Carter (foot) has missed the last month but is getting closer to a return and is questionable for Tuesday.
3. Memphis has taken five of the last six in the series, including a 100-90 win at Utah on Feb. 4.