Matt Barnes drains too-early heave to lift Grizzlies over Pistons

Watch enough NBA games and you’ll gain an appreciation for the many little things that display players’ mastery of the sport. For instance, veterans always seem to know exactly when to release the ball on a halfcourt heave to ensure they get a decent look and leave no time remaining for the other team to score. Their internal clocks are calibrated just right.

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Someone must have not properly wound Matt Barnes before the final seconds of Wednesday night’s game between the Memphis Grizzlies and host Detroit Pistons, though, because he took a desperation heave in the final seconds much earlier than needed.

With just over five seconds remaining and the Grizzlies down 92-90, Barnes picked up a loose ball and began to push it up court in order to catch the Pistons off guard. Yet Barnes rose up for a halfcourt shot with more than three seconds on the clock, giving plenty of time for Memphis to find a better option or even call timeout (which head coach Dave Joerger seemed to want anyway). Luckily for them, Barnes’s aim was true:

With 1.1 seconds left, the Pistons called timeout and found Marcus Morris for a tough-but-OK three-point attempt off the inbounds pass. He missed, though, and the Grizzlies left town with a 93-92 win to bounce back from the franchise’s worst home loss of the Memphis era.

Barnes had a pretty solid game overall, finishing with eight points, 11 rebounds, and three assists while playing his customarily pest-like defense. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol were the stars with a combined for 40 points and 28 rebounds to help offset Andre Drummond’s 18 and 19.

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