- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- Zach Randolph had his rainbow baseline jumper working as the Grizzlies clinched another playoff bid.
The Lead: The Grizzlies clinched a playoff slot with tonight’s win but the accomplishment came with decidedly less hoopla than a year ago.
Last April, when the team clinched in a home win over the Sacramento Kings, Tony Allen was on all fours at center court as the clock ticked down, and he was soon joined by a whole team sporting weeks-old “playoff beards.” The post-game celebration was jubilant. The drought was over.
This time there was another team huddle at center court after the final horn sounded, but the mood was more subdued.
“We didn’t want to be a one-and-done kind of group. We had a lot of success last year and we just wanted to make sure we got back,” Lionel Hollins said after the game. “We were up-and-coming last season, so there was more enthusiasm. This year, we’re more professional about it, but we also had to endure more, especially with those early injures. We had to dig in.”
There was a Dickensian aspect to this clinching game. In the first half, the Grizzlies played down to their competition’s level, as they’ve tended to do this season, trailing 48-47 after two quarters. But in the span of the 15-minute break, the Grizzlies transformed from looking like an “out in five” to a “deep run,” picking up their defensive energy to blow open the game with a 20-4 run to start second half, en route to a 37-12 quarter and a 24-point-lead in the fourth before extended “garbage time” made the final score look more mundane.
