Memphis fourth turnover of the quarter, leading to a break

TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on the Christmas Day extravaganza, including the Nets struggles, the improvement of Serge Ibaka, the feisty Mario Chalmers, the performance of Chandler Parsons and the lane presence of DeAndre Jordan. 1. BROOKLYN NETS: I know Brook Lopez is a good player but come on now. The Chicago Bulls didnt have Derrick Rose and Luol Deng wasnt suited up and they get their tails kicked at home. What I see is a team thats disjointed and just not on the same page in terms of what the plan is. Injuries and the lack of practice time with a healthy group have been factors no doubt but when I see inconsistent effort and lack of fire/passion, then I wonder. I think we all thought this team would be so much better. Now what? Tough decision for GM Billy King. Theyve gone all in with this group and it will be a difficult fix. 2. SERGE IBAKA (Thunder): Each time I watch him, Im more and more impressed with what I see. Hes continuing to improve his game and has become a very nice third piece to compliment Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Plays the game very hard. Relentless in his rebounding effort, finishes in the lane and has become so much more confident in his face-up game and jump shot. He was so raw when he first entered the league but not anymore. Its a true testament to his work ethic. 3. MARIO CHALMERS (Heat): Doesnt get a lot of attention on this team yet hes a feisty perimeter defender and gets the ball to the right places at the right time. Is a guy that can hurt you with the 3-point shot and loves the big moment. Perfect complimentary fit for this club. You dont need to run a lot of plays for him and the style of play is good for his game. Has a really good motor and compete level and playing with such great players has taught him to slow down and concentrate on making the smart play which he does with better consistency. 4. CHANDLER PARSONS (Rockets): Never thought hed be this good as a pro when he came out of the University of Florida. Not a big, strong guy and when you look at him, hes far from a physically imposing figure yet at an explosive/demanding position, hes more than held his own. His performance yesterday against the Spurs was one of pure efficiency and productivity with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists. He makes you guard him from deep (5- 3 Pointers) and has a neat change of pace with his ball skills. Plays the game at a controlled speed yet with superb energy and awareness. A keeper. 5. DE ANDRE JORDAN (Clippers): He gives his team the lane presence that is so important to win consistently in the NBA. Gets 13 rebounds and six blocks against the Warriors and takes only terrific high percentage shots in the lane, usually on offensive rebounds or off of Chris Paul penetration for dunks. As we get into the playoffs in April, Ill be curious to see if Doc Rivers continues to play him major minutes, particularly late in games with his shaky free-throw shooting. Rivers has made it a point of emphasis to play him and boost his stock and compliment him and its paid dividends in an improved player. With coaches leaning towards playing small and adding skill to the court in bigger games, this will be an interesting dynamic to watch develop. Discount Custom Basketball Jerseys . Better still, its in the same team and there are 13 races left for it to develop. Wholesale Custom Basketball Jerseys Store . Johan Franzen had two goals and two assists, Gustav Nyquist a goal and three assists and David Legwand a goal and two assists in the Red Wings 7-4 win over the New Jersey Devils. http://www.basketballcustomjerseys.com/."; Bach is in Rome for the European Olympic Committees general assembly and meetings with Pope Francis. He also visited with Italian Premier Enrico Letta. "The prime minister appeared to be interested in a bid from Italy for 24, because he has realized that the games can serve as a catalyst for development for a city and a country," Bach told The Associated Press on Saturday. Custom Basketball Jerseys Outlet . Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said. Cheap Custom T-shirts . - Chris Davis hit a two-run double, scoring Nelson Cruz in his Orioles debut in Baltimores 9-7 win over to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Each time the Utah Jazz threatened Memphis lead, the Grizzlies responded with defensive stops. Utahs second-half effort pulled the Jazz even in the fourth before Memphis clamped down its defence and beat the Jazz 96-86 on Wednesday night. Zach Randolph scored 21 points, Marc Gasol added 20 as Memphis maintained its hold on a Western Conference playoff spot. "When we do things were supposed to, everything is easier. Its more us," Gasol said of holding off the late Utah threats. "When we start breaking down and not doing what were supposed to, things get ugly quick." Mike Conley finished with 18 points and seven assists, and Tony Allen scored 10 points. Memphis won its eighth straight home game and fifth straight game at home over the Jazz. Gordon Hayward, Trey Burke and Alec Burks each scored 16 points for Utah, while Enes Kanter had 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Jazz lost their sixth straight and 11th of their last 12. "I love the way we fought in the second half," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. "We gave ourselves a chance, and we fought back in the game." Memphis weathered several runs by the Jazz before six straight points in the fourth quarter provided a sufficient buffer. The Grizzlies victory, coupled with Dallas overtime loss to Minnesota, moved Memphis into the seventh playoff spot by percentage points over the Mavericks. Utah kept making runs at Memphis and finally caught the Grizzlies near the midway point of the fourth. Memphis had carried its advantage to 12 early in the period, but Utah answered with a 16-4 run to tie the game at 84 with 5:38 left. The tying basket came after Memphis fourth turnover of the quarter, leading to a breakaway by Burks. Helping the Utah run was the Jazz hitting 10 of their first 12 shots in the fourth. But Memphis got inside for its next three baskets -- by Tayshaun Prince, Randolph and Conley -- to increase the lead to 90-84, enough for the Grizzlies to secure the game. After tying the game, Utah would commit fourr turnovers the rest of the way and missed nine of its final 10 shots, preventing the Jazz from threatening again.dddddddddddd "I think we kind of settled too much, tried to just get the game over with instead of going out there and playing the style that got us the lead," Conley said. "Late in the fourth quarter, we finally got that back." As poorly as the Jazz played in the first half when they trailed by as many as 18, they reversed their fortunes in the third quarter. Hayward, who converted only one of eight shots in the first half, got untracked, helping Utah go on a 16-4 rally to get the Jazz close. "We just came out in the second half and played hard," said Jazz forward Derrick Favours, who was limited to six points on 3-for-10 shooting. "Gordon Hayward got going. We were just out there playing hard. We will get one of these games sooner or later." Utah would get within 3 in the third, but Memphis responded to run the advantage back to 13 before holding a 74-63 lead heading into the final period. Hayward scored eight in the quarter, while Richard Jefferson had nine for Utah, which made 13 of 22 shots in the third. "I think the second half we played pretty good, especially in the third quarter," Kanter said. "We got a really good run and we came back." Memphis, which led 48-32 at halftime, maintained its poise as Utah pecked away at the lead. Despite tying Memphis in the fourth, Utah never led in the game. "We stepped up our game, got three stops in a row, scored three times in a row and executed most of the rest of the way," Memphis coach Dave Joerger said of holding off Utah. NOTES: The Grizzlies, who hadnt played since Saturday remained undefeated (4-0) when coming off three days rest. ... Memphis native Ian Clark, a Utah rookie out of Belmont, did not play in the game. ... Utahs only win in their last 12 was over the Philadelphia 76ers. ... Memphis reserves shot 42.9 per cent, ending a streak of 14 games where the backups shot at least 50 per cent. 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