It was Chinese Culture Night at the IZOD Center, the Nets responded by getting off to a flying start. They probably played their best quarter of basketball this season.
After the Grizzlies took an early lead at 13-8, the Nets scored 6 in a row to go ahead 14-13. Shortly thereafter, the Nets went on a 13-0 run to make the score 33-18. They wound up leading after the first quarter 36-20.
In the second quarter they went up by as many as 18 at 49-31. Right after that the Nets reverted back to form. They allowed the Grizzlies to get back into the game. They still lead at the half, 58-47.
In the 3rd quarter, the Grizzlies behind their young dyanamic duo of Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo combined to lead the comeback. The Grizzlies went on a 12-0 run to end the 3rd quarter with a 78-74 advantage.
With 10:51 left in the 4th quarter, they build their lead to 9 points at 83-74. The Nets trimmed the deficit down but they couldn't retake the lead.
Late in the game, Rudy Gay who led all scorers with 29 points decided it was time to add an exclamation point to this victory by throwing down a highlight reel slam dunk. He gave the crowd a "wow" feeling! In addition, he had 8 rebounds as well.
O.J. Mayo finished with 24 of his own along with 7 assists.
As for the Nets, they were paced by Brook Lopez who had 26 points, but 22 came of which came in the first half. The Grizzlies defense clamped down on him in the second half. Devin Harris added 17 points to go with 13 assists. Yi Jianlian who's from China was in early foul trouble wound up with 12 points.
On a personal level, before and after the game I was able to spend a few minutes with Eric Hasseltine, the radio play by play announcer for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Eric is a really good guy who's originally from the West Coast near the Bay area in Sacramento, California. I remember meeting him at the Garden back on December 4, 2006 for the first time when the Grizzlies came to NY to play the Knicks.
I started talking to Eric and I told him I was heading out to the West Coast in January 2007. He was impressed with my game plan. That trip I referred to as the "Bay Area Blast". Needless to say, it lived up to billing. It was quite an adventure.
Ever since that day I've managed to see Eric whenever the Grizzlies came to town either in NY or NJ. I could use to return to Memphis to see them again in home white. They do play at the FedEx Forum which is located right by Beale Street, the famous strip in downtown.
As for last night, Eric said in the post game show and I quote "it was a tale of 2 halves really the last 3 quarters when the Grizzlies let me do the math they out scored the Nets 84-58". He also said they came out flat again. I told him "it's not the way you start, it's how you finish that matters".
He said they have started out flat a lot this season. Unlike the past few years, this team is in position to possibly make a playoff spot in the very tough Western Conference. I hope for Eric's sake, they do find a way to get in.
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