SIXERS: Game Night: Sixers @ Grizzlies

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Tuesday, February 21, 8:00 PM at the FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN

20-12 (1st in Atlantic, 4th in East)

VS

18-15 (4th in Southwest, 7th in West)

TV: The Comcast Network | Radio: WIP | TV Companion

By KYLE DOLAN

The Sixers continue their three-game road trip tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies. For Philly, it is the first of a back-to-back; for Memphis, it is their second game in two nights. The Grizzlies are fresh off a painful four-point road loss to the Houston Rockets, who the Sixers will visit tomorrow night in their final game before the All-Star break.

A break could prove to be just what the 76ers need. After reaching 20 wins on the season with a win against the Charlotte Bobcats last Monday, Philadelphia has lost three straight games. Meanwhile, Memphis was riding a four-game winning streak before falling to the Rockets last night.

After connecting on just one of 17 shots in his previous two games, Jrue Holiday had a bounce-back performance Sunday night in Minnesota. Holiday, who is second on the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game, went 10-for-20 from the field, dropping 20 points along with five rebounds, two assists and three steals. Doug Collins was pleased with the 21-year-old’s effort, declaring after the game that he would like to see his young point guard be more consistently aggressive on offense.

Lining up across from Holiday will be Grizzlies starting point guard Mike Conley. The former Ohio State Buckeye has put together a solid season, averaging 13.3 points and 6.7 assists per game. Defensively, Conley is a menace and averages 2.45 steals per contest, which is tops in the league.

While tonight’s perimeter battle will surely be intriguing, the Sixers’ frontcourt may face an even greater test. First-time All-Star Marc Gasol has quietly worked his way into the upper echelon of NBA big men. The younger brother of Laker forward Pau Gasol, Marc is averaging 15.0 points, while grabbing 9.9 boards and blocking 2.1 shots, per contest. The7’ 1”, 265-pound center will be a challenging assignment for the Sixers’ rookie bigs, Nikola Vucevic and Lavoy Allen, who continue to fill in for Spencer Hawes as he recovers from an Achilles strain. In the Sixers’ last five games, Vucevic has come off the bench while Allen has been the starter in the middle. The new arrangement seems to be benefitting Vucevic, who has averaged 10.4 points in those games, including a season-high 16 against Dallas last week.

Lining up next to Gasol is former Sixer Marreese Speights, who was drafted 16 overall by Philadelphia in 2008 but traded to Memphis earlier this season after falling out of Collins’ rotation. Although the former Florida Gator has been up and down as a starter in place of the injured Zach Randolph, he has scored in double digits in each of his last four games, including a 20-point, 18-rebound performance on February 15 against the New Jersey Nets.

The Sixers will be without forward Elton Brand (thumb), who is nursing a thumb injury, for tonight and tomorrow's games. Veteran Andres Nocioni will start in his place.