Recap: Nets 90, Grizzlies 109 - Mike Conley Burns Nets, Finds it “Tough” Hollins is No Longer Brooklyn Coach
The second half began with the Brooklyn Nets down five to the Memphis Grizzlies, as prospective free agent Mike Conley Jr. connected on a three-point shot to put his team up by eight. The next time down the court the Memphis point guard pulled up for another deep ball to extend his team’s lead to 11. The Grizzlies never stepped off the gas.
As if lighting up the Nets didn’t hurt enough, Conley’s big game comes hours after all but confirming an end to Brooklyn’s chances to land the highly coveted point guard this summer.
“Its tough,” said Conley about the recent dismissal of his former head coach, Lionel Hollins. “With Hollins being here it was obviously a big reason to look [at Brooklyn].”
Mike Conley said Lionel Hollins being gone from Nets is “tough.” Said Hollins would have been a “big reason” to look at Nets in free agency.
— Andy Vasquez (@andy_vasquez) February 10, 2016
Conley lead the Grizzlies with 20 points and five assists in his team/s 109-90 victory of the Nets on Wednesday night.
Conley’s threes kicked off what was a dynamic third quarter for the Grizzlies. Memphis connected on six-of-seven attempts from three-point range en route to a 39-point quarter. In a quarter that began with the Nets down five, it ended with a new-found 26-point deficit heading into the game’s final quarter.
The Grizzlies were forced to resort to shooting the deep ball after losing All-Star big man, Marc Gasol, likely for the rest of the season.. The threes piled up on the Nets and the perimeter defense was non existent.
Other leading contributors for Memphis included Jeff Green, with 18 points, and Zach Randolph, with 15 points and six assists. The Grizzlies had seven players in double figures, all without their best player.
Brooklyn did start out the game on the right track, dishing out 11 assists in the opening quarter alone. Wayne Ellington was perfect on three attempts from deep and had 11 points in the quarter, and finished with 18 in the contest. Brook Lopez lead his team with 20 points, 18 of which came in the first half.
Some young Nets players did seem to show progress or continue their recent hot streaks in Wednesday night’s game.
Markel Brown played well again tonight, even if it was in so-called “garbage-time.” He finished with 10 points, two assists, and was three of five from three-point range. Brown began the season shooting a mere 22 percent from beyond the arc in his first 40 attempts. The second year player has now connected on eight of his last 12 shots from three-point range.
In his second game of the season rookie, Chris McCullough saw 14 minutes of action compared to the 11 minutes he received in his NBA debut on Monday. He finished with five points and one three-pointer. If he can show he is healthy enough to play heavier minutes he might prove a valuable asset as the jump-shooting big man that Andrea Bargnani has not been.
The Nets will enter the All Star break with a 14-40 record and could look like a very different team with the trade deadline occurring the day before their first game back from break. Brooklyn are expected to be active at this year’s deadline in an attempt to turn the direction of the team around.
