With only one Western Conference playoff spot remaining, the Memphis Grizzlies entered the Staples Center Sunday night in a dogfight with the Phoenix Suns. The Grizzlies left with a little more breathing room, after a 102-90 victory over the gritty Los Angeles Lakers.
 
The win puts Memphis a full game on top of the Suns, setting up an important tilt between the two teams Monday night in Phoenix. The Grizzlies hold the tiebreaker in the event of identical records at the end of the season.
 
Mike Conley scored 24 points to lead the way for Memphis, while Marc Gasol chipped in 18. His brother, Pau Gasol, the Lakers All-Star center did not play and will sit out the rest of the season due to vertigo. Mike Miller came off the Grizzlies bench to score 13 points, including three shots from beyond the arc.
 
Los Angeles, long since eliminated from the playoffs, stayed true to form by putting together a good first half only to let the third quarter get away. On Sunday, the Grizzlies used a 34 point third frame to put the Lakers in the rear view mirror. Los Angeles got 20 points from Jodie Meeks and 15 more out of Wesley Johnson. Nick young chipped in 14 off the bench.
 
The Lakers dressed only nine players on Sunday due to a variety of injuries and ailments. Despite being shorthanded, Los Angeles played with energy and focus for much of the first half; at one point it led by nine points, 39-30, before Memphis went on a run to tie the score at 39. The Grizzlies went into halftime leading 53-52 to set up their monstrous third quarter.
 
Despite being the brunt of criticism throughout much of the season, Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni has his current crew of young Lakers playing hard and with enthusiasm.
 
"He was just saying, 'Finish it out,' " Meeks said about D'Antoni's approach. "He was behind us. He knows that it's been a tough year for him, our organization and everybody that's affiliated with the Lakers, because nobody is used to losing this much. He was just saying it's not fair the hand that we've been dealt some of the time, but he's with us, he's behind us and he still has confidence in us." Source: ESPN
 
However, a lack of depth and experience has doomed them for much of the year, especially in the second halves. On Sunday, the Lakers could muster only 17 points on 29% shooting in the third quarter, while allowing Memphis to hit 68%. Los Angeles could not recover.
 
The Lakers finish the season on the road against Utah and San Antonio before closing up shop. Their offseason will be full of speculation about the health of Kobe Bryant, placement in the upcoming draft lottery, and other personnel decisions.
 
Memphis, meanwhile, is busy trying to salvage an otherwise dismal season, in which the team started off slow and has been working to make up ground ever since. With a win over Phoenix on Monday, the team can continue to build for its future by clinching a playoff spot. Last season, the Grizzlies were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.