Mavs Cough Up Lead, Basketball - Lose 91-90

Sloppy play in 20 turnover effort leads to 1-1 start. Tyson Chandler's (above) foul on Marc Gasol and the resulting made free throw was the difference in the ballgame. (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)

For the first time since Nov. 26, 2005, the Memphis Grizzlies (1-1) have beaten the Dallas Mavericks (1-1) at American Airlines Center.

The Mavericks certainly did their part in helping to end the Grizzlies nine-game losing streak in Dallas, coughing up the ball 18 times and losing despite holding an opponent to under 40 percent shooting for the second straight game.

"[The Grizzlies] were scrappy defensively tonight," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "I think they had something to do with it. But we've got to do better."

With Memphis up 91-90 and 7 seconds remaining in the ballgame, the Mavericks twice failed to correctly get the ball in bounds - culminating with a Jason Kidd turnover (one of his five on the night) that ended the game.
In the fourth quarter alone, Dallas committed nine turnovers and were a woeful 6 of 18 from the field.

"That's too many," Jason Terry said. "You can't do that and win. You've got to value every possession."

Memphis center Marc Gasol scored his 10th point of the night, what would end up being the game-winning free throw with 6 seconds left in regulation after a dumb foul by Tyson Chandler. Gasol finished the game with 10 points, 15 rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes. Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies in scoring with 21 points and also tacked on eight boards.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 27 points and seven rebounds.

"I've never won here, so it feels great," Mike Conley said. "We didn't buckle when it came down to the end. We made the plays defensively that we needed to make to win the game."

Whats Next:

The Mavericks travel to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers for some Sunday afternoon basketball. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. central time.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)