WASHINGTON -- Tayshaun Prince was having his best scoring game of the season, and the Memphis Grizzlies were cruising in the fourth quarter, when a loose ball somehow ended up in the hands of little-used Washington Wizards rookie Otto Porter. Rose Lavelle Jersey . Porter let it fly to beat the shot clock -- and it went in for his first NBA 3-pointer. "My thought was like, Man, if you make that type of shot, then here goes the fourth quarter," Prince said. The Grizzlies led by as many as 19 in the final period, but the Wizards made six 3s over those final 12 minutes. Porter, a career 0-for-10 from long range entering the game, made a second one. The lead was down to two after Bradley Beals 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds remaining, but time ran out not a moment too soon for Memphis, which made its free throws in the closing seconds to preserve a 110-104 win Monday night. "The most important thing," Prince said, "is we stay composed." Prince finished with a season-high 21 points, and Zach Randolph added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who improved to a season-high nine games above .500 and pulled within one game of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Memphis shot 60 per cent after the first quarter and outscored Washington 62-34 in the paint for the game. John Wall scored 23 points, Beal had 21, and Marcin Gortat added 16 for the Wizards, who had a six-game winning streak snapped. Washington had answered a challenge by winning its first three games after losing starting forward Nene to a knee injury, but this time the rotation was also missing forwards Kevin Seraphin (sore right knee) and Martell Webster (sore back). Which is how Porter ended up getting some major playing time, something scarcely seen this season by the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. He had scored only 39 points all season, and he looked as surprised as anyone when his first 3-pointer went swish. "I dont know how that went in," he said. "But I had to get it up there." The Grizzlies appeared in control after a 17-2 run over the final 3 1/2 minutes of the third quarter. Mike Conley (20 points, seven assists) started the spurt with a left-handed driving layup. Both Randolph and Tony Allen converted three-point plays, and Prince hit a 3-point shot as the lead grew to 79-64 entering the fourth. After Porters initial 3-pointer, Nick Calathes made a jumper to push the lead to 19, but the Wizards kept coming. Porters second 3-pointer made the score 102-98 with 1:17 to play. But it wouldnt be enough. "I think thats something we find ourselves doing a lot, getting down and digging in the last five minutes of games, and I feel like we cant do that," said Washingtons Trevor Ariza, who scored 15 points. "We gotta play hard throughout the whole game and compete throughout and not wait for the last five minutes to play." The Grizzlies had 10 players make at least two field goals, while the Wizards relied heavily on their starters. Prince, whose veteran contributions arent always reflected satisfactorily in the "points" column, was more of a scoring threat than usual. "The difference tonight was getting a couple of post-ups early, making a couple of shots in the paint," Prince said. "You notice pretty much since Ive been here, its been jump shot after jump shot, so I had the opportunity today to really get inside." Notes: Wall got his 2,000th career assist in the fourth quarter. ... Memphis F James Johnson sat out with a sprained right ankle and is day to day. ... Washington coach Randy Wittman said he expects Webster back for the Wizards next game Wednesday. Theres no timetable for Seraphin, who missed his fourth straight game. ... The Grizzlies are 16-11 on the road, and this win began a stretch in which 12 of 17 are away. "For some reason, the chemistry is a lot better," Prince said. "Were more concerned with not letting teams get out early on us, which is very surprising because when youre at home you just say, Lets hit em in the nose in the first quarter then we should be in good shape. But were doing it the opposite way." Casey Short Jersey .com) - The Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors are back in the great white north for a brief moment and will host the Dallas Mavericks Friday night from Air Canada Centre. Lindsey Horan Jersey . Some teams got significantly better, some teams divested themselves of talent and some teams had quiet afternoons, keeping the status quo. http://www.uswntproshop.com/c-30-lynn-williams-usa-jersey.aspx .com) - The Eastern Conferences best team takes on one of its worst Tuesday night when the Atlanta Hawks pay a visit to the Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia 76ers.PITTSBURGH – Save for the voice of Randy Carlyle and members of his coaching staff, Maple Leafs practice was generally an eerily quiet affair on Tuesday afternoon. Tension lingered from what occurred less than 24 hours earlier. "Push him!" Carlyle bellowed at the morning session in Toronto, the team departing to Pittsburgh shortly thereafter for a Wednesday affair against the Metropolitan division-leading Penguins. "Get up! Get up!" It was the voice of a head coach frustrated with his group. Spanked 6-0 by the ailing Blue Jackets at home on Monday evening, the Leafs were dealt a thunderous reality check at the ACC, the year-long woes and concerns of Carlyle culminating in an embarrassing defeat. "Its not like he came in and really reamed us out," Nazem Kadri said of Carlyle following arguably the teams worst game this season. "I think we all knew what we thought of the game. We just want to flush it as fast as possible and get to the next one." Outshot, outworked, outplayed, there was not much to like about the effort against Columbus, nor the concerning trends it brought to the forefront. The alarming defeat came just two nights after 50 shots were pelted at James Reimer in a shootout victory over Washington and a mere four nights after a puzzling, uninspired defeat to Nashville. With just two regulation wins all month and a difficult schedule looming in December, improvements are increasingly urgent in need. "The fact is we havent played to where we think were capable of playing and we havent played to the template that we think we have to play to," said Carlyle. Among the concerns is an offensive attack thats fallen into slumber. Shut out for the second time this season against the Blue Jackets, the Leafs have scored just 16 goals in the past 10 games, a mere 10 of those coming at even strength. Phil Kessel notably has one even-strength point all month, the team led in November scoring by Mason Raymond and Trevor Smith. Most frustrating to Carlyle is the manner in which his team has generated offence all season – save for a still potent power play – the bulk of it coming in speedy transition. Last week, Predators coach Barry Trotz referred to the Leafs as a "rush team", a distinction that while accurate based upon evidence, infuriated Carlyle to no end. "Thats what people perceive us as," he said. "[But] is that what we are? We dont want to be that." Carlyle has pushed and prodded for his group to wade away from that dazzling show-and-go (and often one-and-done) attack which has generated much of the goal-scoring and stray toward a blue-collar cycle game. He wants more shots to the net – the Leafs average the third fewest in the league – more second and third chance opportunities and more goals from the "dirty areas" of the ice. Ali Krieger Jersey. "And truthfully, our defence has got to do a better job of getting pucks into that area when our forwards are there," he said. Its a brand thats emerged in bits and pieces, most prominently during a dominant 20 minutes in a loss to Boston earlier this month. "Not for 60 minutes," Carlyle said. "Thats the issue. You have to be prepared to play to your style, your template for a majority of the game for you to have success." "Thats been our problem this year," Kadri said in full agreement. "Well play some good hockey, but it hasnt been for 60 minutes. And thats really what we need to focus on." Yielding a flood of odd-man opportunities to the Blue Jackets on Monday and a boatload of shots and opportunities to the Capitals over the weekend, defensive improvements are also suitably on the agenda, even moreso with the high-powered Penguins on deck. Toronto goaltending has been so good most nights that its cloaked the teams troubles in these areas, but its been a problem no less. Only the Senators and Sabres allow more shots nightly than the Leafs. One minor change designed to help ease those troubles would see Mark Fraser reunite with Cody Franson. Paired together for most of last season, Fraser and Franson evolved into a second pairing for Carlyle, broken up this fall with a new mix of defenders. Jake Gardiner is also expected to be scratched for the first time this season in favour of Paul Ranger. A weak link all year, the Leaf defence has proven unstable beyond the top pairing of Carl Gunnarsson and Dion Phaneuf. Yet to field a full roster, the Leafs will also be without Joffrey Lupul for the next two weeks. The 30-year-old suffered a grade-2 groin strain on Monday night. "We were lucky in a lot of ways that our goaltending and our special teams were winning us hockey games when the shot clock was lopsided and we werent creating enough and we were being hemmed in [our own zone]," Carlyle said. "That, to me, is a sign that weve got to change some of the things that were doing out there. Weve tried to implement that on a day-to-day basis, but [Monday] night mightve been a culmination of the grand scheme of things. It was a pretty ugly game for us. "What were looking for from our group is a response." Optimism for the group lies in the fact that they remain third in the Atlantic division with 29 points, though after a furious 6-1-0 start, the Leafs are just 8-8-1. "Our game hasnt been really where we wanted it to be for most parts," Gunnarsson said. "I think we can step it up. 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