Their 10-point fourth-quarter lead squandered, Marc Gasol had a feeling the Grizzlies would regroup.

O.J. Mayo scored 28 points, Zach Randolph had six of his 23 points in overtime and the Grizzlies beat the Washington Wizards 116-111 on Monday night.

Gasol finished with 20, and his two free throws with 9.5 seconds extended the Memphis lead to 115-111, assuring the Grizzlies of their fourth straight home win.

“We have faith in each other,” Gasol said. “We know everybody can make plays. We did kind of run a little out of gas. But we won. In the end, that’s all that matters.”

Randolph made two free throws with 0.3 seconds left in regulation, sending the game to overtime tied at 102.

“That one stung,” Wizards guard Randy Foye (11 points) said of the play leading to the foul. “We had no time on the clock and up by two. We stopped the initial play, and Zach Randolph went to the basket and got fouled. This one is going to be hard to swallow.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has shot down the idea that Allen Iverson is mulling retirement as he takes an indefinite leave of absence for a personal matter.

Frustration stemming from his reserve role combined with the stress related to a recent family issue has caused Iverson to consider hanging up his jersey for good, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis reported Monday morning.

But Heisley said there was no indication of such consideration by the 34-year-old guard, and the owner told the newspaper that “if he was going to retire, he’d tell me first.”

Iverson returned to his home in Atlanta late last week with Heisley’s permission.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

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Rudy Gay listened as Grizzlies’ teammate O.J. Mayo talked of the team’s need to meld at practice and couldn’t stop himself from piping in, “Practice?”

Oh yes, the player who’s been with the Memphis Grizzlies the longest has seen video of Allen Iverson’s infamous 2002 rant during a feud with Larry Brown about missing practice and heard that word maybe 20 times in the clip. Still, Gay and the other Grizzlies are eager to learn from and play with the 10-time All-Star and former league MVP. They’re also hoping he helps them win more games.

“Actually getting a chance to sit down and talk to him really shows his growth,” Gay said of Iverson. “Of course, that was a while ago, and Allen Iverson is a talented player. To see his growth from then to now and how much he’s turned into a leader and how much he wants to win. … It’s definitely someplace he wants to influence and bring that winning to Memphis.”


Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of Deseret News

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Allen Iverson has something to prove. Though the 10-time All-Star and former league MVP has scored more than 23,000 points in his NBA career, he wasn’t a highly sought-after free agent. The 34-year-old guard heard all the talk that he’s lost a step, that last year’s dip in offensive production indicated he’s on the downside of his career, maybe even ready for retirement.

Iverson wants to prove those critics wrong, and he’ll get his chance in Memphis. He signed a one-year contract Thursday with the Grizzlies — a team that hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2006 and has never won a postseason game. The Grizzlies are coming off a 24-58 season that tied for fifth-worst in the NBA.

“This year for me is so personal,” Iverson said at his introductory news conference.

“It’s basically going to be my rookie season again. It hurts, but I turn the TV on, I read the paper, I listen to some of the things people say about me having the season that I had last year and me losing a step, things like that. They’re trying to put me in a rocking chair already.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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Allen Iverson twittered again Wednesday, saying the Grizzlies have made him an offer — and Memphis says it’s true.

Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace told ESPN.com Wednesday night that negotiations between the sides have heated up to the point where the Grizzlies have made their first formal offer.

“We’re heading into the home stretch before the season, and we have had interest in Allen all summer,” Wallace said. “We’ve been in touch on a fairly consistent basis and had dialogue with his agent, Leon Rose, since the beginning of free agency.”

Click here to read the full article – By Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com

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First-round draft pick Hasheem Thabeet has signed with the Memphis Grizzlies.

The 7-foot-3 center from Connecticut was the second pick in the draft. Thabeet is due to make about $7.7 million over two years under the rookie salary scale. Thabeet is the first Tanzanian-born player drafted by an NBA team. He averaged 13.6 points, nearly 11 rebounds and four blocks per game at UConn last season and was named Big East co-player of the year.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley thinks that the Miami Heat are “the odds-on favorite” to sign free-agent guard Allen Iverson but hasn’t abandoned hope of acquiring the four-time scoring champion.

In a halftime interview Sunday at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where No. 2 overall draft pick Hasheem Thabeet made his professional debut in the Grizzlies’ 86-57 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Heisley confirmed to ESPN.com that he still wants to bring Iverson to Memphis.

Click here to read the full article – By Marc Stein of ESPN.com

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The Memphis Grizzlies have waived Jerry Stackhouse, just a day after acquiring the NBA veteran in a four-team, eight-player trade.

General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced the move Friday after Thursday’s blockbuster deal involving the Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic.

Click here to read the full Associated Press article on ESPN.com

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