Wallace View – Grizzlies 95, Magic 94

MEMPHIS – After coping with nagging injuries the past two months, Tony Allen insists he’s still about six games away from returning to his “First-Team” form as one of the NBA’s elite defenders.

Judging by his performance Thursday night, Allen might have to revise that timeframe. It was Allen’s trademark, ball-hawking defense in the final minutes that completely changed the complexion of the game and sparked the Grizzlies to a 95-94 victory over the Orlando Magic at FedExForum.

Memphis trailed by 14 points when Allen reentered the game with 6:12 left in the fourth quarter. The Grizzlies forced turnovers on two of Orlando’s next three possessions, and Allen also scored on two quick baskets to jumpstart a 24-9 run to close the game. This was clearly a defining, confidence-boosting victory for Memphis (12-8), which was down to just nine available bodies for the second consecutive night because of injuries to five players and the bereavement absence of Zach Randolph.

With Mike Conley (back), Chandler Parsons (knee), James Ennis (calf), Vince Carter (hip) and Brandan Wright (ankle) unavailable along with Randolph, Memphis is relying on leadership from Allen and Marc Gasol to lead a group of young players through what stands as the season’s most challenging stretch.

Allen said the foundation for Thursday’s win was set a night earlier in Toronto, where coach David Fizdale nicknamed his available players “The Nasty Nine” before facing the Raptors. The Grizzlies led at the half in Toronto and were close until the Raptors ran away in the fourth quarter for a 120-105 win. But on Thursday, playing on the second night of a back-to-back set, Memphis didn’t fold against the Magic, who were coming off Tuesday’s victory over the Spurs in San Antonio.

After Gasol’s two free throws put the Grizzlies ahead with 12 seconds left, [Memphis] fittingly closed the game with a [defensive] stop that prevented the Magic from getting a shot off in the final seconds.

“We hold our hats on the defensive end at all costs,” Allen said of the Grizzlies, who forced six of Orlando’s 18 turnovers in the fourth quarter and won despite shooting just 41.8 percent from the field. “(Thursday) was definitely an example of that. At the end, it was a scramble situation. We played hard. When you’ve got guys who have the will to win and help each other defensively, these wins come.”

The depleted Grizzlies are in scramble mode themselves as they try to maintain a winning record despite the loss of so many key players to injuries. Thursday marked the first home game they played this season without Conley, who fractured vertebrae in his lower back in Monday’s loss to Charlotte and is expected to miss about six weeks as part of a non-surgical healing and rehab regimen.

Conley attended Thursday’s game and joked with teammates in the locker room after watching several supporting cast members and role players take on either starting or primary rotation roles. After scoring a career-high 21 points in the loss to Toronto, point guard Andrew Harrison finished with 11 points, a game-high eight assists and just two turnovers in 30 minutes against the Magic. And Troy Daniels followed up his breakout shooting display with a second straight 19-point effort off the bench Thursday.

But with the game on the line in the fourth, the reliable vets in Allen and Gasol closed out the Magic.

“It’s a growth mindset,” said Gasol, who scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the second half. “We took what we did well (against Toronto) – still made a lot of mistakes – but it didn’t affect us the same. We got stops down the stretch. That allowed us to give ourselves a chance and allowed us to win it.”

Fizdale entered the second night of a back-to-back set mindful of the heavy minutes Gasol and Allen played in the loss to the Raptors. But with his team reeling midway through the fourth, Fizdale brought back both veterans to stem the tide. It worked as the Grizzlies rallied from an 85-71 deficit in the final 6:12 of the fourth quarter. Gasol played 32 minutes and Allen played just over 27 minutes Thursday.

The last thing Fizdale wants is for his shorthanded Grizzlies to play uptight and too worried about mistakes. One of their most impressive and carefree breaks of the season came with 5:45 left in the second quarter, when Marc Gasol snagged a Jeff Green turnover and tossed an over-the-shoulder, halfcourt pass to Troy Williams for a fastbreak dunk. The score put Memphis ahead 43-35.

Troy Daniels. So apparently Wednesday’s performance in Toronto wasn’t a fluke for Daniels, who followed up his 19-point breakout game with another strong effort off the bench against Orlando. The Grizzlies have been waiting for this type of production from Daniels since camp opened two months ago. But after struggling through all of the preseason and for most of the season’s first full month, Daniels is regaining both his three-point shooting stroke and his confidence in other facets of the game. In the last two games, Daniels has shot 12-of-21 from the field overall, and 7-of-13 from three-point range.

For as much as Thursday’s win provided a huge confidence boost for the Grizzlies, the reality is that they just started what shapes up as the most difficult month on their regular-season schedule. They’re 1-0 in December, which features a season-high 17 games in 31 days. It’s not an ideal time to be shorthanded. That said, credit the Grizzlies for extending two impressive streaks in the win against Orlando. Memphis improved to 5-0 on the second night of back-to-back sets and is also 8-0 in “super-clutch” scenarios, which are games when the score is within one possession at any point in the final minute.

The Grizzlies appear to be on the verge of landing some roster relief in the coming days. Journeyman combo guard Toney Douglas has emerged as the frontrunner to sign with the Grizzlies should the NBA grant Memphis an injury exception to add a 16th player to the roster. The league is expected to rule on the Grizzlies’ request by early next week. Douglas was cut by the Cavaliers in the preseason after the defending NBA champs reached a deal to re-sign guard J.R. Smith. Douglas played in 61 games last season with New Orleans, which was his sixth team in the past seven years. He also had a brief stint in Miami during the Heat’s run to four straight Finals appearances when Fizdale was an assistant coach.

Grizzlies bounce back with win over Magic, 95-94

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