The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Orlando Magic last night in clutch fashion, outscoring them 11-1 in the game's final 4:38 of game time. They trailed by nine points after a basket by Orlando's Goga Bitadze at that time before making all the clutch plays to secure another season sweep (third in last four seasons) of the Magic.
While defeating the Magic kept them tied for second place in the Western Conference standings with the Denver Nuggets, it also secured another showing of the Grizzlies' ability to deliver when the game matters the most. After struggling in this category in the first two months of the season, the Grizzlies have flipped their fortune and are in a good position as the postseason nears.
The Grizzlies 7-1 in clutch games since January 10th
Following the Grizzlies' loss at home against the Houston Rockets on January 9th, the team fell to 5-10 in clutch games (margin within five points with less than five minutes remaining). What made matters worse was they had seemingly lost the majority of those close games within the last month leading up to that battle with the Rockets.
They flipped their fortune beginning in their next game at the Minnesota Timberwolves when Ja Morant added another game-winning shot to his collection after struggling to shoot for the majority of that game. However, the Rockets were the Grizzlies' kryptonite as they defeated them in another clutch situation just two days later.
What followed was the Grizzlies figuring out their clutch offense and winning six consecutive games in clutch situations. The teams they defeated during this run include the San Antonio Spurs in their next game, the Minnesota Timberwolves for a second time, revenge on the Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, and Orlando Magic.
What's even more impressive is that five of their seven clutch wins since January 10th have been on the road. That bolds well for a team that has failed to win a road game in their last two playoff series, which resulted in six-game losses to the Los Angeles Lakers (2023) and Golden State Warriors (2022).
Each of those series saw the Grizzlies lose game one at home, and fail to deliver a clutch victory on the road in a crucial game four in both series that saw them fall 3-1. The Grizzlies will likely find themselves in a plethora of clutch situations in the playoffs and will need to figure out a way to win if they want to make a run at winning the Western Conference.
In their 29 clutch minutes in their current 7-1 span, the Grizzlies are outscoring their opponents by 38 points and have limited them to 29.3% shooting. They are now 12-11 in clutch games this season with confidence at the right time to develop for those situations as the playoffs are near.