MEMPHIS — The struggles continue for the Grizzlies.
Memphis falling for a fourth straight game Monday night in a loss to the Toronto Raptors where the Grizzlies, a lot like their game against the New Orleans Pelicans over the weekend, failed to close.
When Ja Morant and rookie guard Desmond Bane teamed up for a give and go jam, early in the second half, it looked like the Grizzlies would pull away, going up by as many as ten in the third quarter.
But Morant would not score again.
Toronto answered with a 19-to-2 run to bridge the third and fourth quarters, allowing the Raptors to pull away from there. The Grizzlies outscored in the fourth 34-16, giving up 20 3-pointers and 32 points apiece to Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam.
Saturday night in New Orleans, the Grizzlies blew a seven point lead with less than seven minutes to go when the Pelicans ended the game on a 23-7 run.
“Teams just pick it up on their end defensively and offensively executing and getting the shots that they want,” said Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant. “We’ve just got to want it more in the fourth quarter, and we’ve paid for it these past few games.”
“We’ve got to figure out a way to get stops,” said Grizzlies rookie guard Desmond Bane. “It doesn’t come down to coverages or anything like that. It’s simply effort, effort, extra efforts and I think we are falling short a little bit in that area.”
The Grizzlies next chance to right the ship and snap the streak is Wednesday night when they play host to LaMelo Ball and Charlotte, looking for a season sweep of the Hornets out at FedExForum.
