Memphis could only delay the inevitable this time.

The Grizzlies' 101-86 loss Wednesday night in Time Warner Cable Arena was indicative of one team's continued progress and another's regression. It wasn't until the fourth quarter when the Bobcats used crisp, accurate passes to amass easy scores near the rim and pull away for their fourth win in five games.

In an otherwise sloppy contest for both teams, Charlotte finally found a groove.

Memphis, meanwhile, dropped its seventh straight game tying its season-long skid in a grisly and familiar way. The Griz stood around on defense, took ill-advised shots and allowed careless turnovers to frame their 15th defeat in the past 17 outings.

"They wore us down," Griz coach Marc Iavaroni said. "They made the extra pass and we didn't rotate. Give them credit for making the extra pass."

Allowing the Bobcats to shoot 50 percent, including 68 percent in the fourth quarter, and to score 23 points off 21 Grizzlies turnovers made for another agonizing finish for Iavaroni.

The Griz seem can't seem to put together four quarters of quality play and they are also struggling to get their main weapons firing together. Rudy Gay came up with most efficient and productive offensive output in four games (26 points on 10-of-15 shooting) despite seven turnovers.

But he didn't get much help.

Rookie guard O.J. Mayo struggled mightily against Raja Bell's dogged defense. Mayo finished with 13 points and wasn't much a factor on either end of the floor given Bell tossed in 25 points through three quarters.

Griz forward Hakim Warrick missed 5 of his 6 shot attempts and finished with seven points .

"We did a good job on their main guys even though Rudy made some key points," Bobcats coach Larry Brown said. "At the end, we defended (Gay), Mayo and Warrick pretty well. That's the key when you play them."

Charlotte's defense dared the Grizzlies point guards to beat them.

Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry combined to shoot 4-of-11 and commit seven turnovers. The Grizzlies made a concerted effort to play faster for a second straight game, and finished with 20 fast-break points. But they couldn't overcome sloppy play.

"We had a lot of unforced errors off careless passes," Iavaroni said.

Still, the Griz stayed close for most of the game after rallying from an early 10-point deficit. The Bobcats' lead was just 70-64 heading into the final frame.

The Bobcats, though, lived in the lane in the fourth. Their second-chance points courtesy of a 44-28 rebounding advantage and takeaways stifled the Griz.

The Bobcats cruised after Gerald Wallace stole the ball from Warrick and sprinted the other way for a dunk. That sequence put the Griz in an 88-77 hole with 4:08 left.

From there, the Griz lacked patience. Mayo, frustrated by his ineffectiveness, hoisted a quick, ill-advised 3-pointer at one point.

"I never really got an opportunity to get into a rhythm," Mayo said. "(Bell) is a well-respected defender around the league. I never got an opportunity to attack him."

Charlotte's Emeka Okafor didn't have that problem, playing a major role his team scored 20 of its 46 points in the paint during the fourth period.

Charlotte ended the game on an 11-5 run and led by as many as 17 points.

"When it comes to the end of the game," Okafor said, "we know we're supposed to win."

The Griz avoided a poor start to the second half and Gay provided some hope, hitting a 3-pointer that put them ahead 52-51 four minutes into the third period.

"I was also running and getting easy buckets," Gay said. "I was just to get easy shots."

Gay experienced his roughest stretch of the game soon after when he turned the ball over four straight times. But the Griz had nowhere else to go offensively.

"We wanted to look for Rudy," Iavaroni said. "He was looking for a breakout game and he played very efficiently."

Call Ronald Tillery at 529-2353; read his Grizzlies blog at commercialappeal.com/tillery .