Written By Liam Boylan-Pett at SBNation
Missing four starters — Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, Chris Anderson andMatt Barnes were all out due to injury; five counting Marc Gasol, who’s out for the season with a broken foot — the Memphis Grizzlies were depleted. And they didn’t really stand a chance against the Eastern Conference leadingCleveland Cavaliers.
But Tony Allen, Lance Stephenson, Vince Carter and a team of misfits did the impossible — they dominated the Cavaliers through three quarters and withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally to hold on in the final minute for a 106-103 win.
Allen had 26 points to lead the way as the Grizzlies only used eight players en route to the improbable win. LeBron James had 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists andKyrie Irving added 27 points, but the Cavaliers had 25 turnovers in one of their worst performances of the season.
It was a coup for the Grizzlies, who moved to 38-25 to strengthen their hold on the fifth seed in the West, and another disaster for the Cavaliers, who are struggling to find an identity even after bringing on new coach Tyronn Lue.
Last season, the Cavaliers started the season 19-20 before going on a 44-9 stretch to end the season. They rolled into the playoffs on an upswing and coasted through the Eastern Conference. They’re only 14-7 under Lue and are 4-4 in their last eight. There are still 20 games for the Cavaliers to kick it into high gear this season, but their play of late is far from the look of a team ready to bring home an NBA Championship.
Against the Grizzlies, they played sloppily on both sides of the ball. The biggest problem for the Cavaliers was taking care of the ball. As mentioned above, they turned it over a whopping 25 times, and many of the turnovers were due to lazy passes that should have been avoided.
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