Lee saves Memphis
Mike Conley celebrates after late three-pointer to give Grizzlies 109-108 the lead.
Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Memphis, TN – Tony Allen kind of set the tone for how the Memphis Grizzlies (8-1) unexplainably stumbled out of the gates in the first quarter. Missing three easy, under-the-basket point blank range lay-ups, something Grizzlies fans actually see quite too often – to ensure the Grizzlies would more than likely get routed last night against the Sacramento Kings. And it almost happened – but not so fast my friend!
The Grizzlies had one game for the ages. Spotting the Kings (5-4) a 26-point lead, only to see it slip away and have Memphis mount an improbable, insurmountable comeback and beat the reeling Kings on a Courtney Lee buzzer beater, 111-110.
“I think in the beginning of the game we slept through the first and second quarter,” said Mike Conley, Grizzlies starting point guard. “We had to get picked up by our second unit. They did a good job today of coming in, being aggressive and sparked the first group. And then we came out in the second half and played hard and that’s all we had to do.”
Boo birds began to rang throughout a bewildered FedExForum crowd, seeing an unstoppable Sacramento team dismantling Memphis in the first half, leading by as many as 22 points in the first quarter and up by 16 at halftime. Unfortunately for the Kings, this was a familiar sight. Consecutive road games saw them blow leads of 24 points or more. Tuesday night the Dallas Mavericks were down by 18 in the first quarter, eventually overcoming Sacramento late, 106-98. Now this young promising Kings squad that started the season at 5-1, have now dropped the last three to go to 5-4.
“Everything had to do with the second, third and fourth quarters,” said DeMarcus Cousins, starting center for the Kings. “We hit adversity and we broke down and broke plays. The only thing tonight showed was the difference between a good team and a bad team.”
The 26-point comeback was the largest come-from-behind victory in Grizzlies franchise history. The comeback also extended Memphis’ home winning streak to 18. But the streak was in jeopardy. With only .03 seconds on the clock, Grizzlies guard Vince Carter inbounded the ball, and Kings’ center seemed to have tipped the pass prior to Lee getting the alley-oop. But upon further review, the referees deemed the play good, thus keeping the streak alive and sending the Kings on a long flight back to Sacramento.
Mike Conley paced the league-leading Griz with 22 points and 11 assists – a double-double. Center Marc Gasol helped with 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Forward Zach Randolph shook off a slow start to chip in with 17 points and eight boards. Memphis is off Friday before returning to action Saturday night as they take on the Detroit Pistons at FedExForum. Tipoff is at 7pm (CT).
