Chalmers’ last-second jumper gives Grizz 2nd wild win over Pistons
The Detroit Pistons were mere seconds away from winning both of their meetings with the Memphis Grizzlies this year. Unfortunately for Stan Van Gundy’s bunch, those final ticks on the clock can make a hell of a lot of difference.
[Follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
Last month, it was Grizzlies swingman Matt Barnes who stunned just about everyone — his teammates, coach, opponents and onlookers alike — by unnecessarily pulling up from halfcourt way early, with more than three seconds remaining, to swish a ridiculous 3-pointer that gave Memphis a 93-92 win. On Thursday, with the score knotted at 101 and 7.9 seconds remaining, Barnes once again bedeviled the Pistons … but he wasn’t the guy who finished the job.
With just under eight seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Pistons forward Marcus Morris drove down the left side of the floor but lost possession, with Barnes notching the steal and Grizzlies center Marc Gasol taking possession before sending the pass ahead to Chalmers, who dribbled into the frontcourt. The former Miami Heat triggerman looked for an opportunity to attack as the clock ticked down under five seconds, looking to get to the middle of the floor and use the trailing Gasol as a screener to bump off his defender and create an open look. Instead, Chalmers lost the handle as he crossed paths with Gasol, knocking the ball and sending it to the ground with less than three seconds remaining.
Chalmers lunged forward, grabbed the ball before Detroit center Aron Baynes could get a hand on it and, without taking a dribble or a step, jumped in the air to hoist a shot from the top of the key with one second still left on the clock … and it found the bottom of the net, sending FedEx Forum into hysterics and giving the Grizzlies a 103-101 lead with eight-tenths of a second remaining, with Chalmers even heading to the line after having finished through the contact of the diving Baynes. He’d intentionally miss the free throw to send the last grains of sand through the hourglass, finishing off yet another improbable and thrilling Memphis win over the boys from the Motor City.
After falling behind due to some costly turnovers in the second and third quarter, and trailing by as many as 13 early in the fourth, Detroit had clawed its way back into the game thanks to Morris and rookie Stanley Johnson. With reserve point guard Brandon Jennings breaking down Memphis’ defense and setting the table, the scorching tandem combined for 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting to spark a 23-2 run that gave the Pistons an eight-point lead with 5:42 remaining. From there, though, Chalmers — making his fourth straight start in place of the injured Mike Conley, who continues to be sidelined by a sore left Achilles tendon — took over.
Chalmers pushed the pace after a missed layup by Andre Drummond, feeding Barnes for a transition 3 that cut Detroit’s lead to 96-93. Then, after a Morris runner that pushed the advantage back to five, Chalmers found Gasol popping free for a left-wing jumper to bring Memphis back within three. In the final 96 seconds, Chalmers outscored Detroit 7-0, including the not-quite-how-Dave-Joerger-drew-it-up game-winner that gave the Grizz their third win in four games and improved Memphis to 22-19 on the season, good for sixth place in the Western Conference standings.
Chalmers scored a game-high 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting with eight assists, four steals, three rebounds and three turnovers in 42 minutes, giving the Grizzlies precisely the kind of shot-making, play-making and daring they need with Conley sidelined … including, as the man himself noted, on that final play, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal:
“The guys were saying ‘This is what you do.’ You’re known for that. It was just good to get a shot like that go in and help my team win,” Chalmers said […]
“We finally figured out how to stop the high pick-and-roll, and we got stops and it gave us a chance,” Griz center Marc Gasol said. “Mario was good. He understands how much we need him right now.”
And the Pistons — who fell to 21-18, seventh place in the East, and who are now 7-7 in games in which the score’s been within three points in the final 10 seconds — understand just how much they need to finish off opponents when they get the opportunity, and that they need to take care of business before the final seconds (by, say, not committing 20 turnovers that lead to 22 Grizzlies points) to ensure they avoid even more late-game heartbreak. From Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:
“The basketball gods aren’t going to come every time and we’re not going to win those games,” said Johnson, who sparked the Pistons comeback with 11 of his team-high 19 points. “That’s twice in a row the basketball gods were on their side.
“We have to learn or find out a way – especially with the season and the (Eastern Conference) race being so tight – to separate ourselves and bring that energy every night.”
Johnson communicated that message a bit differently on Twitter after the game:
But while the Pistons left Memphis kicking themselves at giving away another winnable game late, the Grizzlies were able to exhale at banking another W without their top point guard … even if it took every last second and a bit of good fortune to do it.
“Certainly, a crazy finish to a good game,” coach Joerger said, according to Clay Bailey of The Associated Press.
More NBA coverage:
– – – – – – –
Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
Stay connected with Ball Don’t Lie on Twitter @YahooBDL, “Like” BDL on Facebook and follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr for year-round NBA talk, jokes and more.
