Two teams playing out the string meet Wednesday night when the Memphis Grizzlies host the New York Knicks.
Memphis (19-55) has the second-worst record in the Western Conference while New York (20-54) owns the second-worst mark in the East. The Knicks have also dropped 20 straight games against Western Conference foes, and are 0-13 on the road against the West.Wednesday's game could represent a good chance for New York to end those streaks. The Knicks, however, already dropped this season's first meeting with Memphis, losing 120-106 on March 21.
Mike Miller scored 24 of his season-high 34 points in the first half as the Grizzlies built a 69-50 lead at the break. New York rallied to tie the game in the third quarter, but managed only 16 points in the fourth.
The Grizzlies also got 24 points from Rudy Gay, who has played very well recently. The second-year swingman is averaging 24.5 points on just under 51 percent shooting in his last eight games.
Gay scored 29 points on Monday, but Memphis fell behind by as many as 38 in a 116-99 loss to Atlanta. The Grizzlies allowed 73 points in the first half - a season high for an opponent.
"It's just tough to see our team get down like we did, and we have to fight so hard to get back," Gay said.
Memphis guard Kyle Lowry added 17 points and has also been productive lately. Lowry is averaging 16.5 points on just under 65 percent shooting in his last four games.
With the Knicks unable to mount a playoff push, much of the talk involving the team involves whether coach and president Isiah Thomas will be around next season. That speculation will only grow Wednesday, when the team is expected to name Donnie Walsh as its new president - a move that has been rumored for the past week.
New York fell for the 15th time in 17 games, 119-115 in overtime at Milwaukee on Tuesday. Quentin Richardson scored a season-high 22 points, including two late free throws that forced overtime, but the Knicks eventually fell to 0-3 on their five-game road trip.
"I think at the end of the game we definitely took some quick shots and had a couple of turnovers that we definitely shouldn't have had with that group that we had out on the floor," Thomas said.
New York started the fourth quarter with an 88-77 lead but Milwaukee used a trapping press and scored the first 11 points to tie the score with 8:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, setting the stage for another loss.
"It's always tough," Richardson said. "You don't win the games and you don't have the season, the expectations that you thought you had going into the season don't pan out, it's tough. But you've got to keep playing."
