Memphis Grizzlies hang tough to edge out the Charlotte Bobcats; Still in with a shot at gaining the home court advantage in the playoffs...
On Friday night at Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC, the visiting Memphis Grizzlies who have recently qualified for the playoffs for a second season running, defeated the team which has the worst record in the league and
is on the verge of bagging the infamy of the worst NBA team ever, the Charlotte Bobcats with a score of 85-80.
With the win Memphis continue their serge towards the number 4th spot in the Western Conference which is currently occupied by the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clips and the Grizzlies are now only one game apart.
On the other hand, for the Bobcats, the season continues to be a hard fall as they have now lost their 19th consecutive game and 12th straight at home.
Mike Conley was the leading scorer for the Grizzlies as he finished the game with 20 points. He was also the only starter for Memphis who finished the game scoring in double figures. Rudy g*y chipped in with 9 points, Marc Gasol
added 8 and Marreese Speights contributed 6 points on the night.
The fifth starter for Memphis, Tony Allen, who only played around 14 minutes, did not score a single point on the night. Zach Randolph led the bench scoring by providing 14 points while O.J. had 9.
Gerald Henderson led the charge for the Bobcats with a game high of 32 points. Derrick Brown, Kemba Walker and Byron Mullens chipped in with 11 points individually. With several players out due to injuries, only 4 players came
off the bench for the under manned Bobcats and they combined together for 8 points.
Grizzlies made the most of their size advantage over their host as they out-rebounded the Bobcats 41-38, 12 of which came on the offensive glass. Memphis also bullied their way from inside the paint as they outscored Charlotte
58-40 in that department.
Both teams shot the ball below 50% and combined to take a total of 154 shots in the game, only 66 of which resulting in buckets.
Inside the first 3 minutes of the opening period, the scores were tied at 4-each. The Bobcats looked to establish a foot hold in the matchup as they went on a 13-0 run to take the lead 17-4 with 5:23 remaining in the first.
However the Grizzlies responded with 11 unanswered points of their own and by the end of the first quarter they only trailed by 4, 21-17.
At the start of the second quarter, the teams matched each other basket for basket and at the 5:12 mark the Grizzlies were finally able to get back to within 1. On the next possession, they took their first lead of the night 31-30
and then extended it to 5 points. In the closing stages though, the Bobcats regained the lead and were holding a 39-37 advantage at the half.
The trend continued in the third quarter, but Memphis were gradually building a lead. With 8:27 to go, they were ahead by 45-43. However from that point till when 1:22 were left in the frame, the Bobcats erupted with a 18-6 burst
to make it a 10 point game at 61-51.
Shaken up by the assault by the minnows, Memphis responded with a 14-6 run, bridging the third and the fourth quarter, to pull within 65-67. By the time there were 7:20 remaining till the final buzzer, they were able to tie the
game up at 71-each. In the next several minutes, Grizzlies continued with the momentum as they went on an 8-0 run to take the lead.
However the Bobcats were just letting up tonight as they rallied their way back into the contest to make it a one possession game at the score of 80-77. In just about the next 40 seconds, Memphis scored 3 points from the free throw
line; however, Henderson cancelled those out with a three pointer.
On the next possession, Conley was fouled and sent to the charity stripe. He managed to hold his nerve as he successfully made both free throws. In the end, Memphis managed to hold on as they took this one by a margin of 5 points.
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