Doncic’s game-winner sinks Grizzlies’ hearts at buzzer
It was supposed to be Grayson Allen’s night. Two free throws were needed with 1.8 seconds left to ice a Grizzlies win.
Despite entering Wednesday shooting 90.6% on free throws this season, he missed both. Then Luka Doncic turned Fedexforum into Heartbreak Hotel
Doncic received the inbounds pass and double-clutched a shot he flipped up while stumbling forward. It went in as the buzzer sounded and he calmly walked to the baseline with hands raised as his Dallas Mavericks teammates rushed him.
The Grizzlies, too, raised their hands but in protest. The replay center confirmed it was a 3-pointer and Doncic was mobbed again.
The 114-113 loss had the Grizzlies leave the court disgusted. Another gutpunching loss this month in a game they mostly controlled.
Cool Hand Luka
Doncic was close to being in Allen’s shoes after missing one of two free throws with 3.2 seconds left. But he wound up the hero to cap a strong second half.
Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the second half and added nine assists. He scored the Mavericks’ final six points to drag them back down three with 1:02 left.
“He’s a really hard cover and that why he’s an MVP candidate. He turned it on
in the second half and I give him a lot of credit,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said..
Several fans chanted Doncic’s name as he walked off the court. The Mavericks (30-24), seventh in the Western Conference, have beaten the Grizzlies twice with a third game to come in May.
Allen, Grizzlies hang tough
Despite Allen’s missed free throws, the Grizzlies (27-26) were in this game because of his shooting. He scored 14 first quarter points and finished with a team-high 23 points, including tying a career high with six 3-pointers.
Allen had an assist to Kyle Anderson for a 3-pointer to put the Grizzlies up five with 2:07 left. The missed free throws will linger, but this wasn’t a collapse as much as it was Doncic digging his team from a late hole.
Anderson and Ja Morant rallied to Allen’s defense on social media. They were more proud of how they played most of the game than how they ended.
“All you can do is force somebody into a tough shot and Luka made the tough shot,” Morant said. “No reason to have our heads down or anything on how we played tonight,”
Tough finish
Despite leading most of the second half, the Grizzlies are 1-5 in games decided by five points or fewer since March 1.
They defended Dallas well and got good games from Morant (17 points) and Jonas Valanciunas (19 points, 15 rebounds). Jenkins and Morant both called the loss another learning opportunity.
Learning, however, can only do so much. Sometimes you can play well and sometimes luck and execution isn’t on your side. It happened Wednesday and now the Grizzlies must hope the lessons aren’t more rough on their upcoming seven-game road trip.