The Memphis Grizzlies entered Saturday night on a 10-game losing streak, and the Cleveland Cavaliers had won 10 straight. Whose streak would end?
First Quarter:
The Grizzlies ran out of the gates, shooting 7-9 from the field and leading the Cleveland Cavaliers, 16-9 at the first timeout. Throughout the 10-game losing streak, Marc Gasol was averaging less than 10 points in the first quarter. Saturday night? 10 points and shot the ball five times, making every bucket, in seven minutes.
The Grizzlies led the Cavaliers 24-13 with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. To end the first quarter, the Grizzlies shot 65 percent from the field and scored 32 points, leading the Cavaliers 32-28.
The Grizzlies started to weather the Cleveland’s run to finish the first quarter, after the Cavaliers trimmed the lead down to four after being down as much as 12.
Second Quarter:
The second quarter began with the Cavaliers catching the Grizzlies on a 9-0 run. It was going to happen, but the Grizzlies had to put another 30 points on the board this quarter and not let this game even out. At the 8:54 mark, the Grizzlies trailed the Cavaliers 37-36. The Grizzlies let off of the gas pedal in the second quarter quite a bit. The second quarter was summed up in one possession for the Grizzlies.
Between over-passing and inconsistent switching on defense, the Grizzlies went from being up by as many as 12 to trailing by 16 at the half.
Halftime Stats and analysis:
Grizzlies shot 65 percent in the first quarter, but dropped to 50 percent in that second quarter. Cleveland was already killing the Grizzlies from deep, but in that second quarter shot 60 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from 3-point land. The Grizzlies needed to go back to their leaders in Evans and Gasol in the second half to get back into the game.
When Gasol is on, the team is on, plain and simple. In that second quarter, Gasol was passive and so was his team.
Third Quarter:
The third quarter began pretty well for a team that trailed the second best team in the league by 16.
At first, a few 3’s dropped for the Cavaliers, but then Gasol and Evans made the team follow them. The Cavaliers continued to get open shots off of screens, and the Grizzlies’ defense struggled on defense. The Grizzlies trimmed the lead down 10 with 5:01 remaining in the third quarter, trimming the lead ever so slightly.
The Grizzlies seemed to find their Andrew Harrison. He entered and scored eight points in six minutes. Not only on the offensive end, but the defensive end, was he causing havoc. The Grizzlies ended the third down by 11, but trimming the lead.
Fourth Quarter:
The Grizzlies cut the lead down to as much as six, and the Cavaliers were dealing with a dead team that had been revived.
The Grizzlies brought the lead down to four, and then Gasol had to get a 30 second breather. When Gasol returned, the Grizzlies trailed by 11 points. Not because of Gasols’ absence, but rather the officials’ lack of calls on one end and easy buckets on the other end because Grizzlies were on the floor.
They tied the game at 109 with less than two minutes remaining in the game. The Grizzlies were down 11 with four minutes remaining, and tied it up. Harrison and Brooks’ big plays down the stretch got this game to a tie. Then, two punishing drives by LeBron James put the Cavaliers up by five with 34.9.
Then, the Grizzlies took a 20-second timeout, leaving them with one left to draw up a play. Brooks takes the ball, drives through the Cavaliers defense, and gets fouled shooting, made both free throws. The Grizzlies trailed by three with 28.8 remaining, but James took the dagger mid-range 3 to seal the win for Cleveland. In the end, Memphis fell to the Cavaliers 116-111.
Key Stat Lines:
Tyreke Evans: 31 points, and 12 assists in 39 minutes
Marc Gasol: 27 points, and 6 rebounds in 40 minutes
Andrew Harrison: 12 points, 2 steals, in 18 minutes
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Game Summary:
The Grizzlies dug themselves a hole that they couldn’t quite dig out of. It comes down to putting four quarters together for this team. Of course, when the Grizzlies made their run after being down big, they made their move midway through the fourth, but the Grizzlies had tough breaks.
Overall, the Grizzlies roll into Monday’s match up against Minnesota confident, even though they’ve dropped 11 straight, as they might have found something in Cleveland.