Grizzlies Fall to Rockets 107-91
The Houston Rockets pulled away in the fourth quarter and defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 107-91.
The good news is that the Grizzlies played well for about three quarters’ worth of basketball, the bad news is that an NBA game consists of four quarters. Despite a mostly decent effort from the injury depleted Grizzlies, the Rockets ran away with the game in the final minutes, stretching the final score to 107-91.
Why the Grizzlies lost
Though a closely contested game for most of the evening, James Harden lead the Rockets to a strong 4th quarter finish as Houston outscored Memphis 35-22 in the final frame. You can view the full box score here.
Harden gave Houston a game-high 25 points while Dwight Howard added 17 points and 14 rebounds. Late in the game as the Rockets began to pull away for good, the Grizzlies opted for a “hack-a-Howard” strategy of putting Howard on the free throw line. This strategy was used to no avail as Howard shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the stripe.
The Rockets’ victory was fortified by ample bench scoring including 16 points from Marcus Thornton and 20 from Terrence Jones, both of whom torched the Grizzlies for 3-of-5 shooting performances from downtown.
Allowing the Rockets second chance points and continuous open three-point looks ultimately doomed the Grizzlies in this one. Memphis surrendered 18 three pointers on mostly uncontested shots while the Rockets shot a scorching hot 51 percent from beyond the arc.
A Few Positives
Early on it appeared Marc Gasol had finally emerged from his recent stupor as he recorded 10 quick points in the first quarter, connecting on 5-of-6 shots from the field. Although Gasol seemed to stop looking for his shot as much and vanished for most of the second and third quarters, this game has to be at least somewhat heartening for Grizzlies fans since Gasol finished with 20 points on 8-of-15 shots to go with five rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. Certainly a step up from his play of late.
While the Grizzlies’s defense could not stop anyone from making three point shots, several Grizzlies players had productive games on the offensive end, with a total of six players scoring in double figures.
Tony Allen had another solid game for the Grizzlies notching 17 points, including an amazingly uncharacteristic 2-for-4 on three point shots. Allen also contributed seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
While the Grizzlies were without perimeter players Matt Barnes and Mike Conley, Courtney Lee logged some quality minutes in his return from hip injury sustained last week. Lee scored 16 points and nailed impressive buzzer beaters at the end of the first and second quarters.
Mario Chalmers, Zach Randolph and Vince Carter gave the Grizzlies a boost and scored 10 points apiece.
Cause for Concern
Along with the Grizzlies ability to box out and grab defensive rebounds, and any type of ability to defend three point shots, Jeff Green was also missing in action tonight. After getting the start, Green played fewer than 15 minutes of the game, and sat out the entire third quarter, which happened to be the best quarter of the game for the Memphis Grizzlies. Green finished with a measly three points and zero rebounds, and did not hit a single field goal in the game.
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Speaking of Jeff Green, Dave Joerger did not opt to give Green any minutes as a “point forward” and played starting point guard Mario Chalmers for over 40 minutes. It’s unclear why Coach Joerger ran Chalmers for so many minutes and barely played backup guard Elliot Williams at all.
The Grizzlies showed some resolve and fought hard to come back in the third quarter and competed with the Rockets for the majority of the fourth, but in the end they gave up way too many three point baskets and did not do enough to hinder the Rockets’ second-chance opportunities.
Who Got Next?
On Thursday January 14th, the Grizzlies take the court against the Detroit Pistons for another home game at FedExForum. Stay tuned for a preview and details of the upcoming game against the Pistons.