The Memphis Grizzlies should feel good about close loss vs. Mavericks

The Memphis Grizzlies lost a crucial game in the most heartbreaking fashion imaginable. The Grizzlies held a lead on the Mavericks for the entirety of the game, all the way until the clock hit zero.

The only problem was the Luka Doncic, one of the best players in the league, had thrown a shot up before the clock hit zero. This prayer of a shot landed in the basket, giving the Mavericks a win in the worst way possible for Grizzlies fans.

First of all, props to Luka Doncic. At first glance, his shot was a fluke. But then you remember all of the times that he has managed to make similar shots. While the Grizzlies played solid defense on the final possession, they could have done more.

That said, they’ll allow any player in the league to take the shot that Doncic did to win the game. The Mavericks got lucky — very few people will deny that.

The Memphis Grizzlies should feel great about how they played on Wednesday

There’s no way to say this without sounding like a salty Grizzlies fan, but Memphis outplayed the Dallas Mavericks for the entirety of Wednesday night’s game. You can say what you want about Luka Doncic, but that’s the truth. Even die-hard Mavs fans will not deny that.

Grayson Allen may have choked, but it seems unlikely. We’ve seen him hit clutch free throws before, it just wasn’t his night on Wednesday. In fact, it’s important to remember that he is half the reason the Grizzlies were in the lead to begin with — the former Duke Blue Devil had a great night with 23 points.

That said, the Grizzlies were in a position to win a game against the team ahead of them in the Western Conference standings and they lost. But they were in a position to beat a Mavericks team with two of the best players in basketball in Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.

At the end of the day, the Mavericks got the win, but a 90% free throw shooter missing both shots followed by a circus buzzer-beater 3-point shot is as unfortunate as things get. And even worse — it felt like this was coming from a mile away.

The Grizzlies will find their way into the loss column after this one, but you can fully expect this team to bounce back soon. Expect a motivated game from Taylor Jenkins’ squad against the Bulls on Friday night.