With eye on standings, Knicks eager to halt slide vs. Grizzlies

The New York Knicks are running out of time in their quest for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Following Tuesday's loss to the Houston Rockets, the Knicks (48-28) are 2 1/2 games behind the second-place Boston Celtics with six games remaining. New York is only one game ahead of the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Knicks, who have lost five straight games against teams with winning records, will attempt to get back on track Wednesday against the host Memphis Grizzlies (25-50).

New York has followed up a seven-game winning streak with a three-game losing skid.

The Knicks are in danger of being passed by the Cavaliers, who have made a late-season charge. Cleveland had an opportunity to move into a tie for third place Tuesday night but dropped a 127-113 decision to the Los Angeles Lakers. Prior to that decision, Cleveland had won six of its previous seven games.

As the Knicks prepare for the playoffs and their postseason roster, coach Mike Brown is leaning toward Jose Alvardo settling into the backup point guard role over Jordan Clarkson or Tyler Kolek. Alvardo had 12 points in 12 minutes off the bench in the 111-94 loss to Houston.

"I'm going with Jose and Tyler's got to stay ready like everybody else," Brown said. "His number can be called at any time. And if his number is called, he's got to go out there and help us win."

The abundance of Memphis injuries has created added playing time for several players.

In Monday's 131-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns, guard Jahmai Mashack played a career-high 37 minutes. Only one Memphis player -- Rayan Rupert -- has logged more minutes in a single game this season. The Grizzlies have had only 11 players log 35 or more minutes in a single game.

Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo boosted Mashack's court time to give him a player he thought could harass Suns' guard Devin Booker.

"We thought (Mashack) was a good matchup for Devin Booker," Iisalo said. "Booker ended up still having a great night -- 36 points in three quarters.

"The strength that (Mashack) has is you can throw him in any possible position on offense or defense. He knows all of them and always contributes."

With a roster filled with recent G-League players and players on 10-day contracts, the Grizzlies held their own against Phoenix for three quarters. Phoenix blew past Memphis in the final quarter, outscoring the Grizzlies, 40-16.

Turnovers were the culprit, an expected occurrence considering the makeup of the roster. Memphis has used 41 different starting lineups this season.

"Yeah, we turned it over a lot," Iisalo said. "We turned it over three times in the first 2:30 (of the final period) and gave up lots of offensive rebounds and transition baskets.

"Overall, I think they finished with 34 more field-goal attempts. It's very difficult to win (that way)."