The Lead: After three consecutive 20-point losses and at least the suggestion of some internal discord, the Grizzlies needed a calming double-digit win. They got it tonight, even if scoring only 85 points against what is, statistically, the NBA’s worst defensive team doesn’t exactly scream “everything’s okay now.”
This wasn’t a focused, intense effort, but the Grizzlies did maintain control for most of the night, and this wayward, lark of a game was more entertaining in an offhand, NBA nerd way than the score suggests.
Man of the Match: Credit Tony Allen for an awful lot of the good that happened tonight. Competitively, Allen had one of his better all-around performances, scoring 14 points on 6-11 shooting, with 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks, and only 1 turnovers. The rebound, assist, and blocks numbers were all season highs. The highlight was a no-look, over-his-head pass to Rudy Gay for a baseline dunk. Why not?
Allen was also in rare form as creator of chaos and joy. When he fouled Kings center Chuck Hayes, Allen looked to referee Ken Mauer, stuck his hand, fingers outstretched, in the air, and yelled, “Five! Five!” That’s the number worn by Grizzlies forward Marreese Speights, who was not involved in the play. Mauer gave the foul to number five.
After the game, I asked Speights if a teammate had ever gotten him in foul trouble before. Speights said, “You saw that?,” then rolled his eyes. “That’s just Tony being Tony,” he said, good-naturedly.
Tony Allen fouls Chuck Hayes and then talks Ken Mauer into giving it to Mo Speights. “Five! Five! Tony says, holding up five fingers.”
