Miami @ Memphis preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 26, 2016 ) Memphis 110, Miami 107

The Miami Heat gave themselves a chance at a winning three-game road trip and a .500 record when they went into Mexico City and locked down on the defensive end in a 101-89 win over the Brooklyn Nets. The Heat will try to secure back-to-back wins for the first time this month when they visit the struggling Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

Miami allowed 240 points in losses to Western Conference powers Golden State and San Antonio before holding the Nets to 36 points in the second half on Saturday. "A great game for us, especially defensively," Heat point guard Goran Dragic told the Miami Herald. "We know that they were going to try to play fast. They scored 89 points and shooting 40 percent from the field. That's in our wheelhouse. We want to play like that every night on defense." The Grizzlies are losers of three straight and 14 of their last 15 but are seeing some improvement under interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff and took the Oklahoma City Thunder to overtime on Saturday before dropping a 102-101 decision. "We had our chances," Bickerstaff told reporters after the loss. "Over and over again, we had our chances. We can't afford to let these types of games slip. ... Small things, simple execution things, understanding our player tendencies, those types of things. We had our opportunities. We let it slip away from us."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Miami), FS Southeast (Memphis)

ABOUT THE HEAT (12-13): Miami small forward Justise Winslow is beginning to embrace his role off the bench and scored a season-high 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting on Saturday, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range. "I think I was just in a rhythm, defensively and offensively," Winslow told reporters. "I think I got to the point now where I'm really just trusting my skills and all the work I put in, not thinking and just flowing really." Winslow is not the only reserve playing at a high level of late, and shooting guard Tyler Johnson totaled 45 points on 17-of-23 shooting over the first two games of the road trip.

ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (8-18): Memphis held a 20-point lead in the first half on Saturday but came out of the locker room cold with a nine-point third quarter. "Basketball happened," center Marc Gasol explained to reporters. "They made runs. They're a good team. You were up 20 obviously for a reason. You were doing things correctly. We were able to slow them down in transition. They changed a little bit, the pace of the game. They slowed us down offensively, and they were able to speed up the game on their end because they were getting stops. That's what happened." Gasol is averaging 21.4 points over the last five games and logged 42 minutes on Saturday -- the second time in the last five contests that he eclipsed 40.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Heat SG Dion Waiters went 1-of-10 from the field in two of the last three games, with an 8-of-12 effort sandwiched in between.

2. Grizzlies SG Tyreke Evans is averaging 28 points on 23-of-43 shooting over the last two games.

3. The road team took each of the two meetings last season, with Miami earning a 90-81 victory in Memphis on Nov. 25, 2016.

PREDICTION: Heat 105, Grizzlies 103