The Grizzlies picked up a good win last night — the second night of a back-to-back set, on the road, against a much-improved Minnesota Timberwolves team that has already beaten the Spurs and Mavericks and lost close games to the Thunder and Heat.
Fatigue was apparent, especially from Marc Gasol, who was leaving a lot of shots short, but the team was able to play staunch enough defense and make enough plays offensively to pull it out. (Other than O.J. Mayo, the team really struggled from the perimeter, with Conley, Gasol, Rudy Gay, Dante Cunningham, and Jeremy Pargo a combined 0-17 on long two-point jumpers.)
The Grizzlies closed the game with a lineup of Conley-Mayo-Tony Allen-Gay-Gasol and, without Zach Randolph, I suspect that’s going to be the team’s best lineup on most nights. This group played the final eight minutes, starting with the team down 63-66 and went on a 13-0 run in the middle of this stretch, giving the Grizzlies a 76-68 lead with three minutes to play and control of the game, then hitting 8-8 free throws in final 22 seconds to maintain that control.
