Griz still striving for consistency
Not long ago, Grizzlies coach David Fizdale sharply criticized his veterans for lacking leadership.
The blast was perceived to be mostly aimed at center Marc Gasol. But Gasol, Tony Allen, Zach Randolph and Mike Conley refused to allow the Grizzlies to stay in a funk and were the spirit Friday night behind a 128-119 comeback victory in overtime against the Golden State Warriors.
“I could tell by our huddles that we weren’t going to just let it go,” said Fizdale, whose squad trailed by 24 points in the second half. “Marc was incredible today
leading this group. He was very vocal and said all the right things in the huddle. He kept those guys believing that we had a chance, and our guys just competed their tails off. We got lucky. (The Warriors) missed some shots, they missed some free throws and it worked out for us.”
The challenge now for the Grizzlies is to carry over their performance in another signature win into their game Sunday night against the Utah Jazz in FedExForum.
Memphis was reeling just four days ago after back-to-back losses in Los Angeles to the Lakers and Clippers.
“With wins like this when you see it on film — the multiple efforts that we’re capable of making, the close-outs, the rebounds, the big-time plays, and the stretch that we know we can make — we’ve got to believe that every night no matter who we are playing,” Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley said. “Hopefully, this will kind of jump start us.”
Memphis trailed 98-79 entering the fourth period. The Grizzlies’ defense deserves some credit for continuing to harass the Warriors into difficult shots.
The score was tied at 111, and Golden State had the ball with 7.4 seconds left. By the time Stephen Curry received the basketball he was 35 feet from the rim. When Curry tried a potential game-winner, two Grizzlies were in his face.
The Grizzlies controlled the extra session from start to finish.
“We did a good job of not allowing them any space,” Conley said. “All their guys were really hunting shots, and later in the game I think we got into our legs a little bit, and they were having to work so hard to get open looks which worked in our favor going into overtime.”
The last time an NBA road team trailed by at least 19 points entering the fourth quarter and won a regular-season game was Dec. 21, 2009, when Sacramento defeated Chicago. The Grizzlies improved to 14-2 this season in “superclutch” games (contests where the margin is +/- 3 points in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime).
“We’ve proven that over the last eight, nine years that when we lock in defensively we are really good,” Gasol said, later adding: “Defense takes a whole team effort, multiple efforts throughout the whole game. I mean, defense sucks. It’s no fun playing defense if not everybody’s in it because they’re going to score.”
The Grizzlies’ 24-point comeback win is the largest in the NBA this season. The second-largest is 21.
Daniels making his mark
Reserve guard Troy Daniels has made at least three 3-pointers in five straight games, which is the longest streak by a Grizzlies player since Juan Carlos Navarro did so in 2007. Daniels is the first in franchise history to record such a streak while coming off the bench in every game.
Tip-ins
The Grizzlies have made 10 or more 3pointers in 18 games this season, equaling the total from the previous four seasons combined. … The Warriors game was the second time in Zach Randolph’s 16-season career that he recorded at least 27 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in a game.