Gold Lion: Grizzlies beat the Clippers 106-91

Mike Conley might not have responded well to the push Marcus Williams has been making for his job, but the Grizzlies certainly responded well to Conley's foul trouble, both with Williams and O.J. Mayo running the offense. The Grizzlies offense absolutely tore up the Clippers, shooting 54% from the field and getting to the line 19 times with 17 hits on those free ones.

After another big 3rd quarter push, just like against the Wolves, the Grizzlies took control and never even thought about looking back. Memphis has now won two in a row, and even if the Timberwolves and Clippers aren't exactly playoff teams, that's still something.

You can get more at Clips Nation, or hop over the jump for a longer recap.

Zach Randolph got dirty on offense, shooting great and passing effectively despite only earning one assist for that work. Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo were just splashing every jumper they took, often open catch-and-shoots, a rarity for the Grizzlies. But again Marc Gasol stole the show on offense. Big Gasol was nearly perfect from the field, and he even dished six dimes. The high-post Gasol attack was on display tonight.

And while the offense definitely was the shining star in this game, the defense was pretty solid too. I actually liked what Zach was doing, how often do you see dude get four fouls? Not often, but he should try it more often. Craig Smith, a surprisingly decent offensive backup, got his buckets, but Zach protected the rim better than normal. 

I even liked the bench out there. DeMarre's jumper was a little less crooked, and Hasheem Thabeet returned to look a little less goofy against the Clipper scrubs. Sam Young led the second unit again, but I thought he looked to pass a bit more than usual.

Rockness Monster: Marc Gasol might be the Grizzlies best player. He just keeps showing new moves and more vision every game this season. Last season Marc had definite limitations; he banged the boards and showed flashes of other skills. This year the younger Gasol is dangerously close to mastering the high-post.

U-Turn: Marcus Williams played better with the starters than he does with the subs. He clearly defers more often, and even though he shouldn't be shooting threes with that wonky jumper, Williams played well within himself. Look, he's still a terrible defender and seems to have no concept of when to push or slow things down, but results are results. And Mike Conley is terrible.

Bitter Limon: I bet you can guess... Mike Conley shoots 0-4 from the field, has 2 assists to 2 turnovers, and collects 5 fouls in just 16 minutes on the court. I didn't realize you could so much damage in so little time.

Sleeping With the Enemy: Well, Baron Davis certainly didn't do his team any favors, and nobody else bailed the Clippers out, as hard as Chris Kaman might have tried. Al Thornton might be out of the league in three years, and Rasual Butler got revealed as a product of Chris Paul like he was a Scooby-Doo villain. What else is there to say about this team? Without Eric Gordon, they're not very good.