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BRANDONDILL—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS The Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green, center, collected a triple-double against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. ByMarcusThompsonII BayAreaNewsGroup MEMPHIS For a moment, midway through the fourth quarter, it looked as if the Golden State Warriors were in danger of blowing another lead late to the Memphis Grizzlies. But Draymond Green, in yet another highlight on his Defen- sive Player of the Year campaign, squashed the Grizzlies' comeback. He anchored a Warriors' defense that refused to let the Grizzlies score enough. Green had just four points, but still managed a triple double — 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals — as the Warriors beat host Memphis 122-107. Two of his steals came in the fourth quarter, timely thwarts dur- ing the Grizzlies' surge. He also had five blocks, including one at the rim on Memphis All-Star center Marc Ga- sol. Green not only set a team-record in steals, he led the way in the War- riors sending a message to the only team that's beaten the Warriors twice this year. Green was battling contact issues all game, had his nose plugged to stop bleeding after a blow to the face, and limped off midway through the fourth quarter after get- ting kicked in the shin. But he returned in time to put the game away. And the visual was clear: the Warriors are tough enough to beat the Grizzlies. They don't have the size they had the last two years when they owned Memphis. But they still have Green, who seems to have enough toughness to make up for the size disparity. The Warriors focused on dictating tempo early in the game. And Klay Thompson helped matters with his shooting. He finished with 36 points, knocking down eight 3-pointers. NBA GreensetsWarriorsstealsmark GoldenStateholdsoff Grizzlies in 4th quarter with his triple-double WARRIORS122,GRIZZLIES107 Up next: Golden State Warriors at Oklahoma City Thunder, 5:30p.m. Saturday, TV on ABC. THESCORE By Janie McCauley The Associated Press OAKLAND Sonny Gray is starting fresh, ready to be Oakland's reliable ace again. His forgettable 2016 season is be- hind him, and that's a positive thing considering last year began in frus- tration. Gray was scratched from his scheduled outing opening day be- cause of food poisoning and never had the kind of season he envisioned as the leader of the rotation. Two stints on the disabled list. In- consistency when he was healthy. Struggling to a 5-11 record on the heels of back-to-back 14-win cam- paigns. "It started off on a sour note with getting sick," Gray said. "Again, it's one of the things you went through and you experienced it and you know what it's like. You've got to put it in the past and not look back at it. That's the approach I've been taking." The right-hander, who last month received a $3,575,000 one-year con- tract to avoid arbitration, plans to pitch in the World Baseball Classic for the Americans to get himself back in a groove. This winter, Gray worked with a personal trainer for the first time and appreciated the guidance through his regular arm care and maintenance routine. He first spent a stint on the dis- abled list with a strain in his up- per back before missing time down BASEBALL A'S GRAY READY TO LEAVE 2016 BEHIND Oakland's ace starting pitcher struggled to 5-11 record last year while dealing with some injuries BEN MARGOT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Oakland Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray is starting fresh, ready to be Oakland's reliable ace again. JEFF CHIU — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin has four legitimate closers to choose from and he isn't ready to name any of them his No. 1option for the ninth inning. Staff Report PALO CEDRO The Red Bluff Lady Spartans basketball team hit the road Thursday and brought back a win over the host Foothill Cougars, 69-62. In a back-and-forth contest, the Cougars jumped ahead early, finishing the first period up 18- 11. But the Spartans turned the tables in the second, going into the half up 30-27. Foothill again built a lead in the third to go up 50-47 but the Spartans finished strong, put- ting up 22 in the final period to take the win. Maggie Winning led the Spar- tans with 18 points, shooting 75 percent from the floor and 83 percent from the line, with two assists and five rebounds. Me- gan Boone had 15 points, two assists and four rebounds; Jesse Miller had 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, 10 rebounds and five assists; Kylee Kitch- ell had 10 points, an assist and four rebounds, Allyson Drury had eight points, an assist and a pair of rebounds and Carissa Twitchell had six points, three assists and eight rebounds. The Spartans (13-8 overall, 3-5 league) are scheduled to host the Shasta Wolves (13-8 overall, 3-5 league) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. They lost to the Wolves 43-29 in Redding on Jan. 24. Red Bluff will close the regu- lar season by hosting the league- leading Pleasant Valley Vikings (15-6 overall, 8-0 league) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. LasPlumas57, Lady Cardinals 31 OROVILLE The Las Plumas Thunderbirds proved too much BASKETBALL Lady Spartans outscore Foothill on the road BASKETBALL PAGE 2 By Josh Dubow The Associated Press SANTACLARA If there's one thing Eric Reid knows well after four years in the NFL as a safety for the San Francisco 49ers, it's read- ing the first impression from a new coach. After playing his first two sea- sons under Jim Harbaugh, Reid has watched Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly take over for failed one-year tenures. Now as Reid gets ready to play for his fourth coach in his career after the hir- ing of Kyle Shanahan and new general manager John Lynch, he sees reasons for optimism that the Niners might finally have the leadership team in place to revive the struggling franchise. "It's a different feeling. I believe in what they're saying," Reid said. "A lot of times, at least in my expe- rience, when you talk to a coach, you leave and are like, 'Yeah, yeah. OK, that's what you say, let's see what happens.' But when I walked out of that room I felt very confi- dent that what they were saying was true and that I could believe the words that were coming out of their mouths." Winning over the players is just the start for Shanahan and Lynch as they take over a team that just matched the worst record in fran- chise history with a 2-14 mark last season that led to the firing of Kelly and general manager Trent Baalke. But they have started to do just that. Receiver Torrey Smith praised Shanahan for running an offense that caters to players' strengths. Shanahan has had success as a coordinator with quarterbacks as different as Matt Schaub, Robert Griffin III and Matt Ryan. He said his offense is flexible with the only constant being the language and a commitment to running outside zone plays that fuel the play-ac- tion game. "Every year it's changed," he said. "It depends on what our players are, it changes if you have injuries, it changes what types of fronts you're going against." Linebacker NaVorro Bowman said he was extremely impressed with the offense Shanahan ran NFL New 49er regime to win over players MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, right, and general manager John Lynch pose for photos during a press conference Thursday in Santa Clara. 49ERS PAGE 2 A'S PAGE 2 WARRIORS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, February 11, 2017 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1