Also on their list of remaining games are the Chicago Bulls, also with something to play for (although slowly running out of time to catch up with the playoff race in the East), a huge game on the road against the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers on the road. His decision to join the National Basketball Association after one year at Memphis was a financial decision, nothing more. Guard Jimmy Butler didn’t score until there was 4:29 left in the game; he finished 2-for-8 with five points. Star point guard Mike Conley, out since March 6 with Achilles issues, has effectively been ruled out for the rest of the season, including the playoffs. Grizzlies fans know that the Grizzlies can make the playoffs, with the magic number only being three right now, but are anxious that they will have to face the Thunder, Spurs or even the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs. The Bulls shot 44.2 percent from the floor and went 11-for-29 from 3-point range for 37.9 percent. Since that point the Grizzlies have gone 2-10 now holding slim leads over Dallas and Houston while in jeopardy of falling out of playoff contention completely if they don’t turn things around. The Bulls started slowly, however, against a Memphis team equally injured this season and with a league record 28 different players in uniform this season. Pau Gasol led Chicago with 6 points, but he was severely overmatched when it came to paint production.
Advertisement
On the season, Memphis averages 99.2 points, 41.5 rebounds and 20.8 assists per game.
The Chicago Bulls take on the Memphis Grizzlies in one of the National Basketball Association games on Tuesday, start time at 8:00 PM ET, at FedExForum, Memphis Tennessee. Tony Allen, who guarded Butler much of the night, had four of Memphis’ 13 steals in the game.
After six straight losses and 10 in 12 games, the Grizzlies are tenuously holding on to the No. 5 seed with a record of 41-36, which is a half-game better than the sixth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers. Gasol had 11 and Rose eight.
Down 83-65 going into the final quarter, it looked all but over as the first six minutes of the quarter featured the Bulls and Grizzlies just drag their feet across the court as both teams looked like they didn’t want to play.
Advertisement
But other Bulls struggled shooting in the half, including Butler missing all five of his shots. The Bulls finally began to show some energy with a McDermott three, a Rose runner and spirited inside defensive play from Cristiano Felicio. But the Grizzlies escaped as Rose missed after a turnover and a Gasol pass got away after an offensive rebound.
