With Dr. J, David Bing and Brandy in the house and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in their hearts and minds the Grizzlies played inspired basketball, but in the end, fell to the Detroit Pistons 87-79 in the Seventh Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Game and Celebration. Read Matt's recap.
Marc Gasol - one tough cookie. Read more commentary from Chris Avis.
Photos
View photos from the Grizzlies' Martin Luther King, Jr. Sports Legacy Symposium and presentation of awards to Dave Bing and Julius Erving.
Video
Dave Bing explains why he's elated to receive the National Civil Rights Museum Sports Legacy Award as part of the Grizzlies' Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Game and Celebration. Watch the interview.
- Marc Gasol recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 12 points (4-of-9 FG) and 13 rebounds… Six of those double-doubles have come in the last 11 games while Gasol has started in place of the injured Darko Milicic.
- Hakim Warrick had his third double-double of the season with 12 points (6-of-14 FG) and 10 rebounds… Warrick has scored in double-digits in a season-high 14 consecutive games.
- Making his first start since Dec. 3 at Atlanta, Mike Conley had eight points (4-of-5 FG) and a team-high five assists.
On the loss:
I thought we played much better as a unit. We played tougher. We rebounded the ball. We played aggressive. Unfortunately down the stretch they got some better looks than we did. We just couldn’t put the ball in the hole. We missed a couple of lay-ups and wide open shots here and there. (Rasheed) Wallace was a good force inside on O.J. Mayo. Give them credit. They came up with big shots in the end. Losing frustrates you. You have to keep a positive spirit. Unfortunately, we are going through a tough time right now and it will turn around if we battle through it.
On Rudy Gay
If he’s open, he is supposed to get the ball. That is always the plan. We’re working on seeing the open guy. That’s a process we all know. Your scorers think they can make the big shot, but sometimes you have to make the big play. We have to look at it in that way.
On starting Mike Conley
I just felt like it was time. He’s been playing well. I wanted to do a little change. I was tired of the slow starts, so I thought that was the best place to start him.
On Darius Miles
I’ll have to talk with Chris Wallace after this game. He has played well. It looks good but we will have to talk it through. He’s a big body. He can bang around with fours. He’s got a veteran level of experience. When his legs are under him, he can hit shots and he knows what he is doing on defense. We are just trying to get him healthier and better so that we can play him more. He didn’t get a lot of looks tonight, but I was trying to get some guys on the floor that are familiar with playing with one another.
On the loss
It was tough. They had a little bit more experience than we did. They played great defense and we couldn’t come away with the win. We showed a much better image today than in past games. I think we can still improve on a lot of things and keep going in the right direction. We played with a lot of energy and tried to do the right things. It won’t change overnight; we have to do what we do in practice and keep doing those things in the games. The results will come if we stick to that. Everybody saw today how we can play. I think we still have to polish some things, but tonight we played as a group and as a unit, and we can’t be too disappointed if we lose like that. In time we will win. Sometimes we have to lose the hard way, but I think everybody is on the same page.
On playing a nationally televised game
It wasn’t the televised part that was a big thing. It was more of the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration that was the main part. Everybody had a little bit more motivation today because of that. We came out strong, and that’s how it’s supposed to be. The crowd really helped us today.
On the loss
They made a lot of veteran plays down the stretch. They’ve been together for awhile now and they made some pretty good plays down the stretch. We just couldn’t answer when it came down to the last three minutes.
On the loss
We kind of collapsed at the end and they really picked it up. Allen (Iverson) picked it up and Rasheed (Wallace) really picked up his defense and really helped them to the win. It’s tough. I always think I can help the team more. Nobody wants to settle, so I always think I can do more. We were running late towards the end of the game and we had to slow down to get something, and we just weren’t able to do that.
On Rasheed Wallace’s play down the stretch
Rasheed has been around. He’s won championships and he knows what to do, especially in the late-game situations. He really showed his experience.
On snapping the losing skid
I thought just the fact that we played five games in a week’s time. A week ago, we were 10 games over (.500) and felt pretty good. We had two major guys coming back into the mix. In one week’s time, losing five games, you can’t become that good and then become that bad in a week. There were a lot of things in those games that were self-inflicted. I thought we continued to get better. I thought we did in the second half against New Orleans. We played and helped each other both offensively and defensively. We began to play with some passion instead of worrying about the outcome of the game. Just going out there to play and letting everything else just take care of itself.
On the defense
Defensively, we’ve been pretty good. You look at our numbers, other than the New Orleans game, we’ve done pretty good defensively. We just struggle to score. Today, we did break plays off. We kind of put the ball in (Allen) Iverson’s hands, which we’ve been diagramming, and (Rodney) Stuckey’s hands. Let them make the plays and everyone else should just play off of the plays that they create for us.
On Iverson playing 42 minutes
I was just worried about tonight. He didn’t want to come out for those six minutes.
On the win
It was good. Going through a rut like that, having opportunities to get win games and not winning, to get one tonight feels good.
On his play
I’m just trying to get my groin warm enough. We brought a bike out there to try to get it warmed up some. Dice (Antonio McDyess) was doing an excellent job of setting screens and getting me the ball in my sweet spot. I just try to make plays, not just by scoring, but trying to get to the basket and make plays for my teammates too.
On his groin still hurting
It is, but you I’ve got to try to fight through it. I kind of hurt it again early in the first quarter but I just tried to flow with it and warm it up a little bit more so I’ll be alright.
On the team
We just want to win, bottom line. We want to win games. Guys are coming out trying to figure out a way to do everything possible to help the team win. That’s the most important things right now, to try to win games.
On ending the losing streak
That was like getting a gorilla off of our back. This one was hard. You look at their team, their record, you think we’re just supposed to roll over top of them, but it was a hard-fought game. They’ve got so much talent on their team, and then we were playing in their gym. When you lose five games in a row, obviously, for five games, things didn’t go your way. You have spurts during this game where tings didn’t go out way. The game was kind of up and down and we had to fight extremely hard to get off the schnied like that. It takes a lot of character and hard play to bounce back after struggling like that, and that’s what we did.
On playing 42 minutes
I don’t get tired until after the game. I can play all day long. I never want to come out unless it is a blowout game. I just love to play the game. I like to be in there, helping and fighting with my teammates.
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