National Basketball Association
Memphis 103, Milwaukee 83
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 28, 2016
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Officials: #19 James Capers, #37 Eric Dalen, #64 Justin VanDuyne
Attendance: 15244

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- There aren't a lot of practice days at this point in the NBA season. But lately when the Memphis Grizzlies have had them, coach Dave Joerger has opted to go easier and emphasize shooting.

It seems to be working.

Memphis cruised to a 103-83 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday at FedExForum as forward Jeff Green scored a team-high 21 points off the bench. The Grizzlies shot 47.5 percent from the floor and finished 10 for 28 from 3-point range after making 1 of 8 in the first half.

"I was sitting out there thinking what I was going to say after the game, and it was going to be, 'Oh, it was an ugly game,'" Joerger said. "But then the ball started going in. At one point, we were 2 of 13 from three."

Memphis led 50-41 at halftime before opening the third quarter with an 11-2 run to go up 61-43 following a 3-pointer from guard Courtney Lee (13 points) at the 8:58 mark. Lee scored 11 points in the quarter and the Grizzlies carried a 76-62 advantage into the fourth.

Memphis (27-20) controlled the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 25 points. Backup point guard Mario Chalmers led the Grizzlies' assist brigade (28) with 10 and also chipped in seven points. Starting point guard Mike Conley handed out nine assists with five points.

Shooters were in rhythm - partly a carryover from the extra shots getting put up in practice?

"The more you practice the better you're gonna be at it," Lee said. "We had guys banged up, low on bodies, so there's not much five-on-five that you can do."

Milwaukee's 15 turnovers led to 18 Memphis points and though Bucks center Greg Monroe scored a team-high 21 points, he also made a team-high five turnovers.

The Bucks (20-28) dropped to 7-21 on the road. Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (seven points, seven rebounds) didn't stick around for the end of this defeat as he was hit with a technical foul at the 6:30 mark in the fourth quarter and ejected. Whether he uttered some "magic" words or not wasn't clear; he didn't talk to media after the game.

Bucks coach Jason Kidd didn't mind that Antetokounmpo disagreed with an officials' call enough to say something.

"Yeah, I think there is nothing wrong with showing emotion for Giannis or for any of the guys," Kidd said. "Giannis cares and he got frustrated."

The Bucks shot 36.7 percent from the field and were 1 for 16 from beyond the arc. That brought some frustration, too, but Rashad Vaughn kept firing; he went 0-for-5 from three and finished with two points on 1-for-7 shooting overall.

"I'm not going to let missing a shot get me down," he said.

Center Mac Gasol finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals for Memphis, and forward Matt Barnes scored 13 points and knocked down 4 of 8 threes. Tony Allen had 13 points and seven rebounds.

Milwaukee guard Khris Middleton scored 15 points with six assists, five rebounds and three steals. The Bucks led 27-23 after the first quarter.

"We lost control and tempo of the game," Kidd said.

Memphis has won eight of its last 10 games and is seven above .500 for the first time this season. The Grizzlies won their fifth straight at home and are 18-7 at the FedExForum.

The Grizzlies did not have anyone selected as a reserve for the All-Star Game.

Allen said Gasol was "snubbed," but Gasol had a different take.

"I don't know what snubbed means," Gasol said. "If you look at the list, (everybody) deserves it that's there. If we would have been 30-15, then we'd probably have somebody up there. At the end of the day, that's how it works. And that's on me to play better and we'd have more wins."

NOTES: Milwaukee G O.J. Mayo missed his seventh straight game with a sore left hamstring. F John Henson was out Thursday with a sore lower back. ... Memphis F Jeff Green scored a season-high 30 points off the bench in an overtime victory over Orlando on Monday. ... The Bucks have the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference, but coach Jason Kidd said they are treating the final seven games before the All-Star break as an opportunity to climb back in the playoff race. "We feel we still have a shot," Kidd said.
Top Game Performances
 
Milwaukee   Memphis
Greg Monroe 21 Scoring Jeff Green 21
Khris Middleton 6 Assists Mario Chalmers 10
Jabari Parker 8 Rebounds Marc Gasol 8
Jerryd Bayless 5 Free Throws Made Mario Chalmers 4
Khris Middleton 3 Steals Marc Gasol 4
Miles Plumlee 2 Blocks Matt Barnes 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Milwaukee 83 36.7 1-16 24-27 17 46 3 8 15
Memphis 103 47.5 10-28 17-20 28 37 5 7 11
Upcoming Games
  • Memphis will play their next game at home against Sacramento. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Milwaukee will play their next game at home against Miami. The Bucks have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .429 after a loss.
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