Lopez Beasts Grizzlies, But Only for First Half
February 21, 2010
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—Sunday at the IZOD Center, the Nets lost to the Grizzlies, 104-94, despite holding an 18-point lead midway through the second quarter. Brook Lopez scored 22 points in the first half, with Devin Harris dishing out 12 assists, but Lopez added only four points after halftime and Harris, only one assist. Free-agent-to-be Rudy Gay scored a game-high 29 for Memphis.
For the full recap, read Bob Considine's story on NBA.com: Click Here
Lopez Beasts Grizzlies, But Only for First Half
Brook Lopez was beasting. Halfway through the second quarter of Sunday's game against the Grizzlies at the IZOD Center, Lopez had amassed 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting, seemingly set to obliterate his career-high of 32 as he boosted the Nets to an 18-point lead.
But then Grizzlies All-Star Zach Randolph (18 points, 10 rebounds) tipped in a miss, and Lopez was called for an offensive foul away from the ball on the ensuing possession. Reserve swingman Sam Young swished a catch-and-shoot jumper, but then committed a loose-ball foul on the other end.
Clock reset, the Nets inbounded, and Lopez worked against Marc Gasol at the free-throw line extended. As he turned the corner, Lopez lead with his forearm, causing a referee to whistle him for a second offensive foul; his third personal, the infraction forcing him to the bench.
With Lopez out, Memphis cut the halftime lead to 11, reversing the game's flow with a 31-16 third-quarter and cruising to a 104-94 victory. Lopez added only four points and four rebounds in the second half, wiped out as an offensive option by better ball denial and Grizzlies bigs forcing him off his spots. The center left the locker room before commenting to media.
"It's unfortunate," said backup point guard Keyon Dooling (5 points, 3 assists) I guess it's a part of our immaturity as a team. When somebody has a hot hand, no matter who it is – especially when you have a center as dominant as Brook – we just have to force feed him. No matter what. Just force feed him. If they start doubling him, we play off him and start making shots. We kind of did them a favor. We just went away from him. We went away from him."
That's evident by most statistical measures: the Nets scored 20 points in the paint in the second half after racking up 32 in the first half (Lopez had 12 on six layups or dunks); after shooting 2-for-8 from three in the first two quarters, the Nets heaved up 13 in the final two, sinking only a pair to finish the game 4-for-21 (.190).
Point guard Devin Harris, who has been notably more effective since returning from his sprained wrist, racked up a solid final line of 16 points, 13 assists, two steals and two blocks. But only one assist came after halftime, he missed 11 of 17 shots (2-8 3Ps) and racked up eight of the Nets' 20 turnovers.
"I made some iffy passes, and some of those were like 'What was I doing?'" Harris said. "But they got their hands on lots of balls – they're long. (I was) just trying to make plays, and sometimes you have games like that."
Boone Boosts His PT
Josh Boone continued stretching out his once-dwindling playing time, logging 19 minutes off the bench as he pulled down nine rebounds and played strong defense against Memphis' talented bigs. Late in the fourth, Boone defended Zach Randolph in the post, sticking with the 20-point scorer and bottling him into a jump ball.
Boone corralled the toss, and tipped in a missed three by Devin Harris, cutting the Grizzlies' lead to 94-88 with 4 minutes, 8 seconds remaining. When Harris pilfered a pass on the ensuing play, he fed Courtney Lee for a layup that brought the Nets' within four. But they missed their next four shots as Memphis pulled away.
"I do what I can, when I'm on the floor, to help us win," Boone said. "That's all there is to it. It's not even about individual success – we need to create wins."
Gay's Focus in Free Agency
Memphis' major free-agent-to-be, forward Rudy Gay, finished with a game-high 29 points after carrying the Grizzlies with 19 in their tamer first half. He also pulled down a Nets' miss and two offensive boards in one crucial fourth-quarter sequence that resulted in two free-throws and an eight-point lead with 2 ½ minutes to play.
But for all the success he had against the Nets on Sunday, Gay viewed them as a team with potential for the future.
"This is an off year; everybody has off years," Gay said, pregame. "I've been in Memphis how long, and this is our first good year! I know how it is, I know how to get back (to winning). It's nothing new to me."
Gay knows the summer is going to be a busy one come July 1st, but said that the only thing he's planning for is the USA Basketball Men's National Team workouts that will determine the team competing for the Olympics and FIBA World Championships during the next three-year cycle (2010-12). Nets center Brook Lopez will also participate.
The fourth-year pro does have a general idea of how he'll handle the free agency question once it arises:
"In my position, first you look at where you're at, what they're willing to do and how much they want you back," Gay said. "And after that you go out and see what else is appealing. That's what I was taught to do and that's how I'm going to go handle it."
Memphis' Plan Panning Out
Kiki Vandeweghe saw promise and parallels in the way Memphis has improved to a fringe playoff contender this season, despite a 2-8 slide that the Grizzlies snapped Sunday.
"Teams go up and down; I don't think it means they have any worse players," Vandeweghe said, pregame. "I like their team. They've done a good job of staying with the plan. If you look back a year or so, two years ago, they invested in their young players, lost a lot of games and stayed with it and I think now, they've been rewarded for that.
"They made a couple good deals – the Randolph trade worked out very well for them, but I like their young guys. Mayo is good, Gay is very good. They're talented, Lionel Hollins has done a very good job. Marc Gasol is good in the paint, (and) they're all good in the paint. They really push the ball, they run. they're a fun team to watch."
Yi on an Evening
On "An Evening of Chinese Culture" at the IZOD Center, forward Yi Jianlian came through on his vow to better a 2-of-13 shooting performance in Friday's loss to Toronto. The 7-footer finished 6-of-9 on Sunday, totaling 15 points, while adding four rebounds.
