Midwest Division teams clash in Memphis

This is the third meeting of the season between the two teams. Both squads picked up home victories in the previous two meetings. On January 7, 2004, the clubs had a game postponed because of severe weather conditions in the Portland, Oregon area. Memphis was unable to fly out of Portland due to the weather.

The Grizzlies had their franchise-record eight-game winning streak stopped on Wednesday with an 88-76 setback at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Former Trail Blazer Bonzi Wells came off the bench to score 20 in the loss for Memphis, which also had its franchise-record home win streak snapped at seven games. Pau Gasol finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Memphis is 16-6 at home this season.

The surprising Jazz pulled off another impressive win Wednesday night, downing the Dallas Mavericks, 91-88, at the Delta Center. Andrei Kirilenko scored a team-high 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the contest.

Raja Bell had a huge night off the bench with 18 points in the win for the Jazz, who have won two in a row on the heels of a five-game slide. Carlos Arroyo and Greg Ostertag each netted 12 points for the victors. Ostertag also hauled down 11 rebounds.

Utah, which has lost six straight on the road, is a dismal 4-16 as the visitor this season.

The home team has won four straight and eight of the last nine meetings in this series. The Grizzlies have won two of their last three over Utah, which has lost two straight and four of its last five at the Grizzlies.