The Memphis Grizzlies appear to have solved their problems with ineffectiveness in the third quarter for good. The only problem is there is it looks like there is a new issue on the horizon for this young Grizzlies squad, as their inability to close a game down the stretch resulted in a third straight loss, this one a 101-89 defeat coming at the hands of the Phoenix Suns. Full recap.
The Grizzlies homestand will continue on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs. Details.
Chris Avis: The Grizzlies' stars struggle in a 101-89 loss to Phoenix
On the loss
This is a tough reality. We play like a team for three quarters, and then we stop playing like a team. We start going one-on-one, we stop sharing the ball, we take tough shots when there are easier shots to be found and we put on the blinders. We just think we have to do it by ourselves. You get ugly basketball. On the other end, you stop talking and you start worrying about yourself and your defensive assignment and you stop worrying about the team defense. That adds up to a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter and adds up to a series of fourth quarter losses. Until we learn our lesson, it’s not going to change.
On the team playing differently in fourth quarters
Well clearly, if you look at it, we won the third quarter, lost the second quarter by three and we won the first quarter. We lost by 20, so there was a big difference there. I don’t think we ran out of gas. They played last night (too). I just think that maybe you could say there’s less oxygen going to the brain, I don’t know. We certainly don’t play the same way. I think we start to press, start to hold and we start to dribble around. We start to feel footsteps. Until we get that out of our heads, that’s not going to change.
On playing Shaquille O’Neal
We try to front him. When we fronted him we had good success and kept the ball out of his hands. When he makes his free throws, he’s pretty tough. Him going against Marc Gasol is a good challenge for Marc, but let’s face it, there is an advantage there. When he gets the ball, we want to swarm him a little bit, to make sure he can’t find their three-point shooters, and we were fairly good at doing that.
On the win
Our guys really grinded it out tonight, shorthanded without Steve (Nash) and then Amar’e (Stoudemire) got kicked out. We had a lot of guys contribute. Shaq (O’Neal) was a force for us again tonight. He just dominated the game. (Leandro) Barbosa stepped in and made some shots and we had other guys that made timely plays that helped us a lot. It was a great win for us.
On Shaquille O’Neal’s importance
We really needed him tonight without Steve and Amar’e. He was the one guy that we could go to knowing he would make plays for us. He took the challenge. He did a good job both offensively and defensively. He was great his evening.
NBA.COM is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network.
Advertise on NBA.com | Career Opportunities | Help
