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Grizzlies 106, Mavericks 95 (OT)
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Eighty-two games wasn’t enough to decide the seventh seed in the Western Conference. It took overtime Wednesday at FedExForum before the matter could be settled.
Guard Mike Conley hit two free throws with 1.1 seconds left in overtime, and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Dallas Mavericks 106-105.
Memphis (50-32) captured the No. 7 position in the West, and it will open the postseason against the second-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
Dallas (49-33) get the eighth seed, and it opens against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Grizzlies got 27 points and 14 rebounds from power forward Zach Randolph. Conley scored 22 points, and center Marc Gasol just missed a triple-double with 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Guard Tony Allen finished with 13 points.
Forward Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 30 points. Guard Monta Ellis, who scored the Mavericks’ last seven points in regulation and seven of the first nine in overtime, finished with 18 points. Reserve guard Devin Harris had 10 points and 10 assists.
The Grizzlies extended their home winning streak to a franchise-best 14 games.
Memphis carried a 75-73 lead into the fourth quarter, but Nowitzki scored nine straight Dallas points as the Mavericks took an 84-78 lead.
Memphis regained the lead at 89-88 with 3:20 to play when forward Mike Miller knocked down a corner 3-pointer. The Grizzlies were up three when Ellis hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to tie the score at 93. Randolph missed a contested jumper with 1.8 seconds left, and the game went into overtime.
NOTES: The Mavericks and Grizzlies had strong motivation to win Wednesday night’s showdown for the seventh seed in the West and avoid a first-round matchup with top-seeded San Antonio. Dallas lost its past nine games against the Spurs. The Grizzlies lost 14 of their past 16 against San Antonio, including being swept in last year’s conference finals. … Memphis F/G Mike Miller played in his 82nd game of the season Wednesday, more than his combined total from the past two seasons with the Miami Heat. He scored a season-high 21 points off the bench Monday night at Phoenix as the Grizzlies clinched a playoff berth. He entered play Wednesday shooting 46.3 percent from behind the 3-point arc, second in the NBA. It is the ninth time in his career he shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range. … Including Wednesday, G Devin Harris had six-plus assists in six of his past seven games. The Mavericks went 11-3 this season when he recorded at least six assists.
