"At the end of the day it's just basketball," Mayo said after scoring 20 points and grabbing a career-high nine rebounds in the Grizzlies' 109-104 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. "There are a lot of good players at this level but the rims are the same height, the court is the same length and it's still 5-on-5. It's a big deal but I'm pretty comfortable."
Two days after scoring 28 points in a loss to the previously winless Sacramento Kings, Mayo shot only 8-of-19 against the Warriors but helped spark a pivotal third quarter when Memphis wiped out Golden State's halftime lead and took control of the game.
Mayo had 11 points, two assists and two rebounds in the third, while Rudy Gay added six of his team-high 23. Gay later iced the game in the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer that made it 104-98.
"When we did that, everybody was scoring, everybody was getting dunks and we were playing freely," Gay said of the Grizzlies' 33-point third quarter. "When we play more hesitant (we struggle). We played free and we got that lead and it was easy to score."
Hakim Warrick had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Darrell Arthur had his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Grizzles, who beat Golden State for the second time in five days.
Stephen Jackson had 27 points to lead Golden State, while Andris Biedrins had 23 points and 12 rebounds. It's the 13th consecutive double-double by Biedrins, the longest active streak in the NBA and the longest by a Warriors player since Nate Thurmond had 13 straight in 1973.
"We didn't play hard enough," said Jackson, who was guarding Gay when the Grizzlies' forward made his pivotal 3-pointer. "Down the stretch I am the leader of the team, s I've got to be smarter and can't give up a wide open three to their best player at the end of the game."
Warrick scored seven points in the fourth quarter, including a thundering dunk from the baseline that gave the Grizzlies a 101-96 lead with 2:10 remaining.
The Grizzlies, who entered the game as the NBA's third-lowest scoring team, broke out for the highest offensive output of the season and also outrebounded the Warriors 55-41. On Monday, the Grizzlies held the Warriors to a season-low 34.4 shooting percentage in a 90-79 victory in Memphis.
Memphis led 93-81 early in the fourth quarter but had to hold off a late charge by the Warriors, who closed within 97-96 on a free throw from Biedrins with 3:36 left. Marc Gasol answered with two free throws and Warrick followed with a dunk and the Grizzlies never looked back while winning on the road for the first time this season.
"We felt if we keep plugging away we were going to get it and it was good that we finally got the monkey off our back," Memphis coach Marc Iavaroni said. "We knew if we got some stops like we did in Memphis that we would be able to run on them and get some easy baskets."
Already without injured starting point guard Monta Ellis, the Warriors were missing forwards Corey Maggette and Al Harrington. Maggette was sidelined with a strained left hamstring while Harrington complained of soreness in his back and underwent an MRI earlier in the day. The test was inconclusive and Harrington is seeking a second opinion.
Harrington, who has asked to be traded due to his ongoing feud with Nelson, probably wouldn't have started even if he was healthy. "For the good of the franchise we have to anticipate that he won't be here and do what we have to do to not be all of a sudden totally surprised about a different lineup," Nelson said before the game. "It's not that he's not going to play, he will play. But we've got to look to the future here. A guy shouldn't be in a place where he doesn't want to be. It's hard for him to give his best and his all. So it's a good thing for both parties at this point."
Brandan Wright started in place of Harrington and had six points and two rebounds.
Memphis shot 54.5 percent in the first quarter but made only six of 26 attempts from the floor.
Golden State's offense wasn't much better. The Warriors led 42-37 with eight minutes left in the second quarter but made just four shots the rest of the half and went into the break ahead 50-48.
Memphis center Darko Milicic was ejected from the game with 1:43 left in the first half after arguing a call with an official.
Milicic had six points and six rebounds when he was thrown out. Mayo helped settle the Grizzlies with a strong third quarter. He had 11 points and two assists to help spark runs of 17-6 and 10-0 to help Memphis take control. Mayo's 16-foot turnaround jumper with 4.4 seconds left put the Grizzlies ahead 81-74.
"That's the kind of balance that we need to have and show, night in and night out," Mayo said. "The second half, we got stops and it really opened up the game for us."
