Grizzlies Win 4th Straight In 105-91 Route Of Pistons
By John Hugar
Jan 20, 2012; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley (11) drives to the basket against the Detroit Pistons during the first half at The Palace. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Let’s get one thing straight: it wasn’t that close.
It wasn’t even close to being that close.
In an inspiring act of kindness, the Grizzlies garbage time unit allowed the Pistons garbage time unit to hit a few baskets, making tonight’s game look like something other than the gruesome slaughter that it was. Really, though, this game was over about midway through the third quarter, when the Grizzlies lead was hovering around 30.
At first, it looked like the Pistons might give the Grizzlies a good fight. They lead 30-22 after the first quarter, and initially, they looked quite energetic. It was all fleeting, however. As the second quarter began, the Grizzlies began drawing ever closer. Once they grabbed the lead, they wouldn’t look back. Memphis would end of the half on a 23-3 run that would put the score at 53-42. Once the third quarter began, they simply stuck the knife all the way in, as their lead continued to grow larger and larger. The Pistons are a frisky team who can stun you at the beginning of a game, but they lack the stamina to hang with a tough, hard-nosed team like the Grizzlies. Once they could no longer thrive on their energy, it was obvious that Memphis was going to prevail.
Mike Conley had an excellent night for the Grizzlies, putting in 19 points while shooting 8-11 from the field. After a lengthy drought, Conley’s shooting may finally be on the uptick. In 27 minutes, Zach Randolph put up 15 points and 10 rebounds, looking like his old reliable self. In a game where the Grizzlies would need more from him, he might have had a shot at a 20-15. Quite simply, his game was on tonight.
Ed Davis finally, FINALLY! got some playing time tonight, and he took advantage of it, scoring 14 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes. He also a shot an excellent 6 of 7 from the field. Hopefully, now that Davis has shown what he can do, Coach Hollins will start playing him in games that aren’t blowouts. the guy obviously has a ton of potential, and he deserves to be one of the leaders of the second unit for the Grizzlies. Hopefully, Hollins realizes that now, and we’ll be seeing more of Davis on a regular basis from now on.
There were few disappointments in this game, but one was the rather underwhelming performance by Tayshaun Prince in his return to Detroit. Prince only scored four points in 20 minutes of play, and was generally a non-factor. The other ex-Piston, Austin Daye, was a bit better, putting in six points and three rebounds in 14 minutes. Neither of the former Pistons players made a huge impression on this game, but the final score made it all to clear they were in a better situation now.
The Grizzlies have won four consecutive games, and they are playing their basketball since the beginning of the season when they started 8-1. The folks who said the Grizz would be better off after trading Rudy Gay are looking more and more right with each passing game. Can they keep their recent hot streak up? We’ll find out tomorrow night when the Grizzlies take on the Raptors.
Say, didn’t the Raptors recently acquire someone who used to play in Memphis? And wasn’t it someone who came out of the 2006 draft? Hmm…what was that guy’s name…….
Oh, right.
Kyle Lowry.