"O.J. Mayo began this season with the stated goal of making a supreme sacrifice.

The second-year guard said he would scale back his focus on scoring to become more of a glue guy able to adapt his game alongside several dynamic scorers.

He effectively operated with that mindset throughout the season and, as it turned out, he didn't take a step back offensively.

Mayo is on pace to finish with a sophomore season that is on par with his rookie campaign. He will have made strides in a couple of key areas, too, turning the ball over less and shooting a higher percentage than in his first NBA campaign.

Credit better shot selection and a commitment to becoming a well-rounded player for Mayo's growth, which has been on display of late with a 20.5-points-per-game scoring average on 48 percent shooting (45.1 percent from 3-point range) over the past 11 games.

"I'm in a nice rhythm. I know where my shots are coming from," said Mayo, who has scored at least 20 points in eight of his last 11 games. "I just want to win. We've earned a lot of respect this year with the way we've played and you get a lot of confidence from that."

Mayo is averaging 17.9 points per game, third on the team behind Zach Randolph (20.8) and Rudy Gay (19.7). Mayo's 46percent shooting is up from 43 percent last season. His 38.8 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc also is a slight improvement."