The Grizzlies fell to the Raptors, 96-92 on Wednesday in Toronto. Marc Gasol had 22 points and 12 rebounds. Zach Randolph finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds. The evening's performance marked Randolph's 8th double-double this year and 100th since start of 2012-13 season. Mike Conley and Prince also scored in double figures.
The Grizzlies shot 44% from the field and 75% from the line.
During the Raptors 200th Anniversary celebration at Air Canada Centre, the Raptors honored Vince Carter with a special highlight reel. In an emotional moment, Raptors fans gave Carter a standing ovation. Carter raised his arms, tapped his heart and wiped away tears. Carter's mother was also in attendance at the game.
The road trip began on a difficult note as Tony Allen, Kosta Koufos, Courtney Lee, Jon Leuer and Beno Udrih were unable to play due to a stomach virus, leaving the Grizzlies with only 10 active players. All five players spent time in a Toronto hospital for dehydration in the last 24 hours and were sent back home to Memphis.
Memphis also re-signed Kalin Lucas and Hassan Whiteside late Wednesday afternoon.
"It was a challenge for us," forward Zach Randolph said. "We still played good. That's why this game hurts so bad. We feel we should have won."
Grizzlies guard Mike Conley called it one of the strangest situations he's faced in the NBA.
"It's up there on the list," Conley said. "You should have seen us at shootaround. We had like six guys. We had coaches in all the plays. It was crazy."
A Grizzlies team spokesman said surgical masks would be made available to those who wanted them onboard the main team charter following the game, an effort to prevent further spread of the virus.
The team will return home for their final November homestand to take on the Celtics on Friday and a contest against the Clippers on Sunday.
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Key Stat
- Memphis is 19-7 against Eastern Conference opponents since the start of 2014. The only other loss this season was at Milwaukee on Nov. 8.
Key Run of the Night
- Trailing 92-90 with 2:29 left DeMar DeRozan hit a 15’ pull-up jump shot and Kyle Lowry followed with a driving lay-up to give the Raptors a two point lead with 1:38 remaining ... After a Zach Randolph miss, Lowry secured the victory with a 16’ fade away jump shot with 8.9 seconds on the clock.