Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley’s Career-High Night Propelled By Clutch Gene

One of the few positive constants of the Memphis Grizzlies’ 2018-19 season involves Mike Conley’s clutch scoring ability in fourth quarters.

For a lowly 26-40 record, there was a lot of excitement surrounding the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday evening. More specifically, it was Mike Conley wowing the home crowd en route to a career-high night in the scoring department.

In Conley’s first eleven seasons, a 40-point performance has eluded him. Prior to Tuesday’s meeting against the Portland Trail Blazers, Mike had posted a season-high of 30+ points in five seasons (including 2018-19), but has failed to reach the 40-point mark.

He notched 36 points in the 2014-15 season. 37 points this season. 38 points has been his previous game-high, which took place in 2016-17 — the last time Memphis reached the postseason. So close, but still shy of a 40-piece.

As the Memphis Grizzlies’ starting point guard of more than a decade has fallen short of an NBA All-Star selection in all 12 possible opportunities, his critics state that he is not “elite.” Especially in today’s high-scoring NBA as a whole, your typical All-Stars are elite scorers above all else. It is all about being flashy, rather than being a team player or stifling defenseman.

It is hard to argue against those that state Mike Conley is not an elite point guard if you are basing the conversation off point totals. He has zero 50-point outings. Yet, guys such as James Harden, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant can seemingly drop a 50-piece with their eyes closed.

On Tuesday, it was a major sigh of relief from Conley which accompanied a Grindhouse that had gone into frenzy (in a good way). The Memphis Grizzlies began the game in an 8-0 hole, but by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, things were just heating up for “Captain Clutch” and his Grizz gang.

Entering the final quarter, Mike Conley had tallied 21 points. Just 90 seconds into the quarter, No. 11 fell to the ground after twisting his right ankle in curling around a screen on offense. He was able to walk to the locker room on his own power, which was a good sign. Still, it left Grizz Nation worried.

By the 8:00 mark, Conley had taped his ankle and checked into the game to finish the fourth quarter. At this point, the Memphis Grizzlies trailed by a score of 93-85. It was “Clutch” time indeed.

He immediately drilled a three-pointer. Then another jumper. 26 points. He was starting to feel it and that right ankle appeared to be just fine. Then Conley demonstrated his floater skills. Followed by another of the kind.

An assist by Mike Conley en route to a Jonas Valanciunas bucket pushed the Grizzlies ahead by a score of 103-102 with 3:19 to play. From here, it is amazing how many points Memphis — and Conley — would continue to produce.

The Memphis Grizzlies would halt the Portland Trail Blazers in their tracks. They had secured the lead for the remainder of the match. With 1:38 left on the clock, Conley would nail a three-pointer and draw the foul — a four-point play! Following the made free-throw, he was up to a total of 35 points.

The final minute came down to making additional free-throw attempts, where Conley would hit three of his last four attempts at the charity stripe. Finally. A 40-piece special, extra crispy with a blazin’ flavor.

It was a major comeback attempt that reached completion in the Grizzlies’ favor. For once this season, they were on the right side of a blown second-half lead. The scoreboard read 120-111 and the Grizzlies won their 26th game of the season — already four more victories than last year’s disappointment.

Mike Conley torched the Trail Blazers with 19 points in the fourth quarter alone. He finished the night with a production line of 40 points on 12/18 shooting (6/7 from long-range), three rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Plus, just one turnover attached to his name in 35 minutes of action. He led the Grizzlies with a +15 rating on the night — also a game-high.

Do not forget that Conley began the fourth quarter on one leg — literally. He dug deep for this All-Star-caliber performance, which was absolutely oozing of elite status on Tuesday evening. Was it his new hairstyle? Perhaps. Regardless, this is one more large feat attached to Mike’s name while donning a Grizzlies uniform.

It is looking like time is running out on the name “Conley” in Memphis, Tennessee. Plus, Mike missed the previous game for rest, and this could become a trend over the course of the season’s final few weeks for a variety of reasons. Tuesday was the time if he was going to produce a scoring spree, and that he did.

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Given the Memphis Grizzlies’ poor record, it is not much of a surprise to see them ranked as the worst team in the league when it comes to point production in the fourth quarter (24.6 points per fourth). Without Mike Conley’s presence, the Grizz could very well be the worst team in the league today rather than the sixth-worst position of which they currently own.

Despite the team record, “Captain Clutch” lives up to his nickname. He ranks 18th in the entire league in the clutch scoring department at 3.2 points per instance, which calculates scoring within the final minutes of close games. For perspective, Victor Oladipo ranks second with 5.1 points, James Harden in sixth at 4.7 points, and LeBron James is 14th with 3.3.

Mike Conley may not own the NBA All-Star label, but his production is certainly embedded within that caliber of company. After this 4-point outburst, perhaps he was an 2019 All-Star snub in Charlotte after all. Not much else is more true than Conley’s scoring ability in the clutch.