Best and worst of Grizzlies’ expansion season

A look at the best and the worst games from the Vancouver Grizzlies’ 1995-96 expansion season.

The best

1 In a Nov. 30 game at GM Place, it takes one of Michael Jordan’s best-ever regular-season performances for the Chicago Bulls to beat the Grizz 94-88. Given the hope it brought the locals just 15 games into the season and the bar that 72-win Bulls’ team set for this season’s 73-win Golden State team, it is the most important event in Vancouver’s NBA history. 2 Chris King’s Nov. 5 tip-in at the buzzer gives Vancouver a 100-98 overtime win over Minnesota, pushing the Grizz to 2-0 in their home opener at GM Place. 3 Vancouver’s best streak of the season and one of the best in franchise history was a 6-6 stretch, capped by a 106101 overtime win Jan. 25 in Toronto against their fellow expansionists, the Raptors.

The worst

1 It wasn’t their worst game of the season, but a 10185 road loss April 2 against Portland — in its first trip to the Rose Garden since the Grizzlies’ first-ever NBA win back on Nov. 3 — marked their franchise-high 23rd straight loss. 2 Vancouver’s first extended road swing was capped on Nov. 8 by a 111-62 loss at San Antonio. This was the thud of cold reality that jarred everyone to the fact that the early magic was over. The Grizzlies’ overall Vancouver franchise record would never sit above .500 after this night. 3 Yet another reminder that their depth was minimal and their path to success based almost solely on their ability to defend. Host Boston had 98 points after three quarters, then turned up the heat in the fourth to win this Jan. 31 tilt 131-98.