{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
Miami 90, Memphis 81
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, November 25, 2016
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Officials: #51 Aaron Smith, #13 Monty McCutchen, #47 Bennie Adams
Attendance: 17222

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Memphis Grizzlies coach David Fizdale only has 16 games on his head coaching resume. But he was a long-time assistant in Miami under coach Erik Spoelstra and he knows the grind of the NBA means there are nights when you play with less.

That was Friday night for the Grizzlies, whose six-game winning streak came to an end as Heat guard Tyler Johnson scored a game-high 22 points off the bench in a 90-81 victory at FedExForum.

Power forward Zach Randolph, in many ways the heart and soul of the Grizzlies, was away from the team after the death of his mother Mae Randolph.

"If we had played great, we'd have said we played well because of Zach," Fizdale said. "I don't want to put it on that. We had enough to win tonight. Miami outplayed us."

Johnson, who matched his season high for points, and also grabbed five rebounds and had two steals and a block, said: "We weren't necessarily thinking about them having a six-game winning streak, we were just trying to finish off this road trip .500. I know they were emotional tonight with everything that happened to Z-Bo. I don't know him personally, but prayers out to him. They're gonna come back with a lot of energy tomorrow."

Indeed, the Grizzlies (10-6) and the Heat (5-10) play again Saturday in Miami.

Memphis started a makeshift lineup, electing to bring point guard Mike Conley (team-high 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists) off the bench in an effort to hold down his minutes (22 on Friday). Center Marc Gasol (9 points, 5 blocks and 2 assists) started and played 27 minutes. Both had played 45 minutes in Wednesday's double-overtime victory at Philadelphia.

Conley also wasn't making excuses for the loss, but he didn't hide that there was an effect -- that in the last day they hadn't just felt like basketball players in the middle of a season.

"When it happened and I called Z, we cried on the phone together," Conley said. "It was just emotional. And that doesn't leave you in 24 hours."

As for playing off the bench, Conley said: "Management, Coach, the statisticians, guys that do the minutes stuff, thought it would be best broken up that way. Like I told them, I'm on board for whatever I have to do. No ego, just trying to win games."

The Heat led by as many as 17 points in the second half; Memphis never had a lead in the game and in the fourth quarter drew no closer than eight points after a put-back dunk by forward Troy Williams (9 points, 6 rebounds) at the 5:31 mark cut the lead to 78-70.

The Grizzlies committed 18 turnovers that the Heat converted into 23 points. Miami played without point guard Goran Dragic (elbow). Center Hassan Whiteside finished with just four points but had 12 rebounds and two blocks to extend his streak of consecutive games with at least one block to 44. He also fouled out and played just under 27 minutes.

He was perplexed by some of the foul calls.

"I guess if you're Marc Gasol you can throw your head back and get a foul," Whiteside said.

Guard Dion Waiters gave Miami 15 points, four assists and three steals. Forward James Johnson scored 13 points with six rebounds off the bench.

A former Grizzly, Johnson said, "They're hurting right now, you can tell," but he also knew they would not quit.

"These guys win a lot of close games," he said. "We knew we'd have to play to the zeros."

Miami shot 38.8 percent from the floor and hit 12 of 31 from 3-point range for 38.7 percent. The Grizzlies shot 35.4 percent and were 4 of 19 from distance for 21.1 percent.

Veteran Udonis Haslem, appearing in just his fifth game for the Heat this season, chipped in four points and three rebounds.

"All hands on deck," Haslem said.

"We can't forget that we've playing great ball," Conley added. "Tonight was one of those nights that was tough for us. A lot going on. The thing we're thankful for, we get to come back tomorrow and give it a shot again."

NOTES: Miami PG Goran Dragic, second on the team in scoring (15.3 points) and first in assists (5.6), did not play Friday due to a sore elbow. ... Grizzlies PG Mike Conley entered Friday's game with the best 3-point shooting mark in the NBA -- 48.7 percent (37 of 76). ... Heat C Hassan Whiteside came in averaging a team-best 17.9 points and NBA-leading 15.4 rebounds. ... Memphis F James Ennis was out with a calf injury, and F Chandler Parsons was out with a sore left knee.
Top Game Performances
 
Miami   Memphis
Tyler Johnson 22 Scoring Mike Conley 16
Josh Richardson 4 Assists Andrew Harrison 7
Hassan Whiteside 12 Rebounds Jarell Martin 12
Tyler Johnson 5 Free Throws Made Mike Conley 5
Dion Waiters 3 Steals Vince Carter 1
James Johnson 2 Blocks Marc Gasol 5
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Miami 90 38.8 12-31 12-18 17 44 8 8 9
Memphis 81 35.4 4-19 19-23 14 51 14 3 18
Upcoming Games
  • Memphis will play their next game on the road against Miami. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .833 after a loss.
  • Miami will play their next game at home against Memphis. The Heat have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .364 after a loss.