Suns Strokes: Mike Conley, Grizzlies roll past Phoenix

From the opening tip, the Phoenix Suns were in trouble.

Once Marc Gasol tapped the ball back to JaMychal Green, the Memphis Grizzlies were off and running toward their second straight win and third in four games. They reached the finish line with a 115-96 victory in front of 16,332 at Talking Stick Resort Arena late Monday night.

Mike Conley scored a career-high 38 points, while Gasol and Zach Randolph each had 18 in the wire-to-wire win.

Conley went 12-of-18 from the field, including seven 3-pointers, tying a career-high. He added nine assists and six rebounds.

The Grizzlies blew the game open with a 23-7 run spanning the second and third quarters to go up 20, a lead they pushed to as much as 30, 109-79, midway through the fourth quarter.

The Grizzlies (29-21) shot 48.8 percent, including 57.1 percent from 3-point range.

Meanwhile, the Suns (15-33) were held to 41.9 percent from the field and missed 14 of their 29 3-point attempts.

Four players scored in double figures, led by Devin Booker’s 22 and Marquese Chriss’ 20, the latter of which established a new career-high.

The Suns have lost a season-high tying four in a row.

THE GOOD

Playing 10 first-quarter minutes, Eric Bledsoe accounted for 13 points. He scored three and assisted on four made field goals, including 3-pointers by Chriss and P.J. Tucker. And for good measure, Bledsoe added three rebounds, all on the defensive end, and a blocked shot, the latter a rejection of Chandler Parsons mere seconds after Alex Len blocked a Conley attempt.

Before a missed corner 3-pointer late in the second quarter, Tucker was shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the field. He followed his two first-quarter made field goal attempts with a trio of makes in the second, including a reverse lay-up which capped a 6-0 run to pull the Suns to within four, 47-43, at the 4:28 mark. Tucker had a team-best 11 points with one rebound at halftime.

After scoring a combined nine points in his last two games, Chriss had 10 in just the third quarter. He made four of his five field goal attempts, displaying his range throughout the floor. There was a 19-foot jump shot, a 27-foot 3-pointer and a pair of dunks, including an alley-oop from T.J. Warren. Chriss, who also had a steal in the period, has now scored in double figures 13 times this season.

After a two-game absence as he battled a cold, Tyler Ulis saw nearly 15 minutes (14:34) of action. He finished with five points, on 2-of-5 shooting including one 3-pointer, two assists and two rebounds. Ulis often found himself running the offense with Brandon Knight shifted to the two-guard spot. With the game out of reach, and out of hand, Ulis played the final 4:40.

THE BAD

Not even 90 seconds into the game, head coach Earl Watson had to call a timeout. The reason: three Grizzlies field goals in three possessions, none of them contested. Conley hit a 3-pointer before driving around Bledsoe for a lay-up and then Gasol hit a 21-foot jumper, assisted by Conley, and it was 7-2 Memphis at the 10:34 mark of the first quarter. Gasol finished the period with a game-high 10 points and Conley nine plus two assists.

Eight of Conley’s 14 second-quarter points came during an 11-2 run which put the Grizzlies in front, 45-35, at the 6:40 mark. Not long after, Conley dropped six points in what was a 10-3 close to the period pushing the visitors’ lead to 59-48 at halftime. Conley made all five of his field goal attempts, including three 3-pointers. His 23 first-half points came on 8-of-10 shooting, including four 3s, and three free throws. Conley also had five assists.

Entering the game, the Grizzlies ranked 23rd in the league shooting 34.9 percent from 3-point range. They were 13-of-22 (59.1 percent) through three quarters, making 6-of-10 in the third period alone. Green hit a pair with Conley, Randolph, James Ennis III and Andrew Harrison accounting for one each. The Conley and Ennis III 3s both put the Grizzlies ahead by 20, which at that point (72-52 and 88-68) was their largest advantage of the game.

Looking to close the game strong, Conley dropped 10 points on the Suns in the fourth quarter, including two more 3-pointers. He was 3-of-7 from the field, missing his last two attempts, and 2-of-2 from the foul line. His 38-point total bested a 36-point effort at Philadelphia on Dec. 13, 2014. It’s his fourth 30-point game of the season and the ninth of his career. In addition, the 23 points he scored in the first half set a career-high for points in a half.

STAT OF THE GAME

16: The Grizzlies made at least 16 3-pointers for the second time this season and only the third time ever in franchise history as they went 16-of-28 (57.1 percent)

HE SAID IT

“Well, if you look at it, it’s a tough game for the team, but Marquese probably had one of the best games in the NBA: 20 points, six rebounds,” Watson said. “It’s important for him to continue to take steps forward. He shows how athletic he is in transition, he shows his ability to finish and handle the ball in transition, he’s a unique gift. It’s time for him to take that next step in February, March and April, such as Devin did last year, and we had that conversation with him today, and he took it and he immediately put it into effect tonight.”

NOTED

– Tucker picked up his fifth and sixth technical fouls of the season, tied for the team lead, leading to his ejection at the 6:27 mark of the fourth quarter.

– Tucker butted heads with Conley late in the second quarter, the impact sending Tucker to the floor where he remained briefly before continuing play.

– Booker has scored 20+ points in 13 straight games, the longest such streak by a Suns player since Amar’e Stoudemire did so in 18 straight in 2008.

– Rookie Dragan Bender missed his fourth straight game because of right ankle soreness. He has not played since the first half at Toronto on Jan. 22.

– In addition to Bender, Ronnie Price was listed as inactive. It’s the second consecutive game he’s been in street clothes since signing a 10-day contract.

– Scouts from 12 different NBA teams, including the Clippers, Kings, Mavericks, Spurs and Thunder from the Western Conference, attended the game.

UP NEXT

Another home game; it’s the third and final one of this three-game stay, tied for the third-longest of the season.

The Suns welcome in the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

The Clippers have won each of the first two meetings this season, both in L.A.

In the most recent matchup, a 109-98 Suns setback at Staples Center on Jan. 2, Bledsoe just missed a triple-double with 22 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. T.J. Warren led the Suns with 24 points.

Overall, the Suns have won 18 of the last 33 games in the series, including a 13-5 mark in 18 home meeting.

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