The Lead: To say the Grizzlies have struggled against the Houston Rockets lately is an understatement. Heading into tonight, the Griz had lost seven straight to Houston, the team’s longest active losing streak against any opponent. And the two previous meetings this season had been ugly, both 16-point losses, with neither feeling even that close.
Asked if the team had gotten a monkey off its back tonight, coach Lionel Hollins called it “a two-ton monkey.”
In a terrific, hard-fought contest, the Grizzlies were climbing uphill most of the way. The Rockets jumped out to an 18-8 lead in the opening minutes behind a scoring barrage from Luis Scola and Griz Killer captain Kevin Martin, who had combined for all of Houston’s points.
The Griz battled back to tie the game at 37-37 early in the second quarter, only to see the Rockets immediately go on a 10-2 run. Then the Griz clawed back to within one late in the third behind strong off-the-bench backcourt play by Greivis Vasquez and O.J. Mayo, only to see the Rockets respond with an 8-1 run.
The Grizzlies finally got the deficit to within a single possession when a Mayo-to-Rudy Gay fastbreak dunk cut it to 85-82 late in the third quarter.
From there, the final 14 minutes were a slugfest, with 3 ties and 5 lead changes. At the 3:33 mark, the Grizzlies found themselves down 101-106. The closing 14-4 Griz run was the kind of sharp, decisive late-game execution Griz fans haven’t seen enough this season, with Zach Randolph (six points) and Rudy Gay (four points, one assist) leading the effort.
It was a huge win for the team, not only to beat a playoff and division rival who had previously owned them, but to wash away the aftertaste of their poor late-game execution against New Orleans Wednesday night and to send the team off on its last long road trip of the season in a good mood.
Hollins called this “a team-bonding win.” Fans can hope he’s right.
