- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- The ZBo Show rolls on.
1. A Win: It wasn’t always smooth sailing, but the Grizzlies got a good win tonight all things considered. Among the factors: The team was playing without it’s leading scorer, Rudy Gay, who missed the game after spraining his ankle Saturday against the Mavericks. In Gay’s absence, the team had to rely more on its very unsteady bench and use more lineups that haven’t had much court-time together, resulting in some decidedly choppy stretches of offensive non-execution. The Wizards’ Big Three scorers all had it going, getting 30 points from Gilbert Arenas, 24 from Antawn Jamison, and 24 from Caron Butler. And after losing a 10-point 4th-quarter lead, the Griz had to fight through a tightly contested final stretch of regulation and an overtime period.
The win moves the Grizzlies to 14-16, gives them an 8-4 record in December and a 13-8 record since the 1-8 start. The team has also won four-straight on the home floor.
With Gay out, the Grizzlies got 20 or more points from the other four remaining starters (including dual 20-10s from Randolph and Gasol) and mitigated their even battle on the offensive boards (a rarity this season) by winning the turnover-differential battle (another rarity).
