- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- Tony Allen, kidnapping fools in the third.
The Lead: For awhile, this one seemed like a repeat of Monday’s game against Cleveland, with the Grizzlies playing down a level against weaker competition for a long stretch to start the game. But it seemed worse in a way, with Mike Conley back at the helm and the Raptors — playing on the second night of a back-to-back — showing a little less fight than the Cavs had.
But, this time, the Grizzlies didn’t wait until the fourth quarter to amp up their team defense and put the game away. After a 48-47 first half, the Grizzlies overwhelmed the Raptors with a 33-14 third quarter in which it took the Raptors more than eight minutes to notch their second made field goal of the period. This 22-6 Grizzlies run included four steals and two blocks from Grizzlies perimeter players, and was spurred by Tony Allen, who has been rounding into better all-around form after a rough start offensively. But this was the first time this season that Allen seemed to be in full “Ante Up” form. One steal from Kyle Lowry became a breakaway bucket. Then Allen kidnapped DeMar DeRozan, taking the ball away on an attempted jumper and finishing on the other end with a rare one-hand dunk that capped the 22-6 run and effectively ended the game.
Man of the Match: If Allen’s eruption was the most memorable aspect of the game, Zach Randolph was again the team’s best all-around player. On the day that I wrote about Marc Gasol’s passing exploits, with was Randolph tonight who was dropping dimes, doubling his previous season high with 6 assists. Randolph added 17 points on 7-10 shooting and 13 rebounds. With floor-stretching Raptor power forward Andrea Bargnani banged-up and not active, the entire frontcourt was a mismatch in the Grizzlies favor in this one, with the Grizzlies’ big-man rotation combining for 54 points and 30 rebounds while their Toronto counterparts mustered only 16 points and 14 rebounds. Marreese Speights, struggling with his shot for most of the season, contributed 18 and 12 of that, on 7-11 shooting. Speights needed one of those, and Lionel Hollins attributed his improved play to a strong practice the day before.
