MEMPHIS – Another drought has ended.
If the Grizzlies accomplish nothing else the remainder of this season, putting an end to two of the longer losing streaks in franchise history should be considered significant sighs of relief. The latest exhale moment came Monday night in Minnesota, where the Grizzlies scored a 101-93 victory over the Timberwolves to snap a 17-game road losing streak.
It took until March 26, but the Grizzlies secured their first victory away from home since a New Year’s Eve win in Sacramento. They had been the only team in the NBA yet to win on the road since the calendar flipped to 2018. It was a burden that weighed heavily on the team for 85 days.
And it was lifted by a collective effort that featured Marc Gasol’s sharp shooting from distance and his 25th double-double of the season, with 20 points and 10 rebounds. It included JaMychal Green’s 16th double-double of the season, with 11 points and 11 rebounds. And it was also fueled by a combined 46 points from the Memphis bench.
It’s always good to win – it kind of confirms and reassures guys. When you do it together, you are much better. We don’t have enough talent in this locker room to just do it one on one. We have to do it as a team. It takes a lot of freaking effort, but now, you can’t be happy. I don’t know how you can be happy with 20 wins.
— Marc Gasol
Ultimately, Wayne Selden provided the hammer for the all-hands-on-deck performance when he scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. Usually, one win away from home doesn’t mean much. They happen every night in the NBA. Good teams do it often. Great teams consider it essential.
But the Grizzlies have been in the midst of a famine. All things considered, this was a huge breakthrough coming off the worst loss in franchise history when they previously returned home from last Thursday’s 61-point drubbing in Charlotte.
“I feel like we take a lot of pride, especially after losing a big one – we really buckled down,” said Selden, who is averaging 16.4 points while shooting 50 percent overall from the field and 44 percent on threes in his last five games. “I think we were losing focus a little bit, but we buckled down. We want to focus on these last few games. Our biggest thing is coming out and playing hard every night and competing.”
Earlier this month, the Grizzlies ended a 19-game overall losing streak that was the longest in the NBA this season and also the longest in the Memphis era of the franchise.
Breakout bench play and three-point shooting made the difference Monday, and the Grizzlies will try to carry that momentum into Wednesday’s game against the Trail Blazers at FedExForum. Memphis shot 15-of-31 from beyond the arc, with seven players knocking down at least one from three-point range. And the team’s 40 made shots overall came on 25 assists.
Gasol insists it’s never too late for the Grizzlies (20-54) to establish productive habits.
“Build, always build,” Gasol said heading into the final eight games of the season. “It’s always good to win – it kind of confirms and reassures guys. When you do it together, you are much better. We don’t have enough talent in this locker room to just do it one on one. We have to do it as a team. It takes a lot of freaking effort, but now, you can’t be happy. I don’t know how you can be happy with 20 wins.”
MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTIONS
Chandler Parsons only played 18 minutes against the Timberwolves. Mike Conley didn’t play at all.
Yet, it would be a mistake to overlook the boosts both provided in Minnesota as the Grizzlies attempt to close the season on an uplifting note. Parsons missed Saturday’s home loss to the Lakers with recurring knee soreness and was questionable Monday before he pressed to play. He ended up leading all reserves with five assists and made a rare appearance in the second half. The 18 minutes Parsons logged Monday were the most he’s played in a game since Dec. 27.
“Of course, I want to do more and play more, but I’m just trying to make the most of the things I can control,” Parsons said recently of pushing through a second consecutive season limited largely by knee issues. “You try to have a positive attitude and keep working through challenges.”
Parsons has played 35 games this season, one more than he appeared in all of last season when his first campaign in Memphis was cut short by season-ending knee surgery last March.
For Conley, just his presence alone on the one-game trip was impactful. The veteran point guard and team catalyst is progressing through the initial stages of recovery, rehab and conditioning from his season-ending heel surgery in late January.
Interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff and several of Conley’s teammates have said his tactical input, humor and calming influence are welcomed and needed, especially coming off last week’s brutal trip that included demoralizing losses in Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Charlotte. Conley is likely to travel with the team for the rest of the season, as Memphis plays five of its final eight games on the road.
KEEP AN EYE ON …
Damian Lillard – The Blazers’ All-Star guard opens a back-to-back set of games Tuesday in New Orleans still on standby as he awaits the birth of his first child, according to reports.
It’s that simple. I’m really anxious. The due date has passed … I’m on standby right now. He’ll come when he’s ready.
— Damian Lillard
With the team on a three-game trip, which started with Sunday’s win in Oklahoma City and ends Wednesday against the Grizzlies, Lillard has arranged for a private jet in each city to fly him back home whenever he gets the call that Damian Lillard Jr. is on the way. The expected due date was last week.
“When it’s time for him to come, that’s when I’ll go,” Lillard recently told OregonLive.com. “It’s that simple. I’m really anxious. The due date has passed … I’m on standby right now. He’ll come when he’s ready.”
The Blazers (45-28) sit third in the West standings and are 5-2 this season without Lillard, who missed time earlier in the season with calf and hamstring injuries. The Grizzlies have split the first two of four meetings with the Blazers this season, with each team winning on the road.
The Grizzlies on Tuesday also signed guard MarShon Brooks to a 10-day contract and waived forward-center Brice Johnson, who appeared in nine games for Memphis after he was acquired in a February trade deadline deal that sent James Ennis to Detroit. Brooks, a late first-round pick in the 2011 NBA Draft out of Providence, recently completed his third season in the Chinese Basketball Association and averaged 36.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists this season for the Jiangsu Dragons.
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