Finally, the Memphis Grizzlies have managed to win a game in Orlando.
Unfortunately for Billy Donovan and his club, it came at their expense.
Memphis rolled over the Thunder on Friday by a final score of 121-92. And although Oklahoma City was without both Steven Adams and Dennis Schroder, neither Chris Paul nor Donovan wanted the team to use the absence of two of their primary rotation pieces as an excuse for the loss.
With four games remaining before the playoffs, after the loss, Paul implored his teammates to take approach their contests with more urgency, especially as the team prepares for its back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday where they’ll lock horns with the Washington Wizards and Phoenix Suns.
“We gotta come out and compete,” Paul told reporters as he looked ahead to Sunday’s contest.
“I think we can’t wait until we get down five or six or something like that to decide we’re gonna play. That starts with me. If we got a lead, if it’s 10, 15, we gotta be one of those teams to try to take it to 20, 25.”
That might be easier said than done.
While each of those contests may seem winnable on paper, the Thunder will continue to be without Schroder, but Paul also sees all teams in Orlando as competitors who have a shot of scoring a major upset on any given day.
That’s especially true considering that Memphis was winless in Orlando before Friday and Phoenix — one of the teams currently fighting for an opportunity to compete in the postseason — will enter play on Aug. 8 as the only undefeated team in the bubble.
“I think we’re gonna just keep building and know that every team out here is fighting,” Paul said. “It isn’t 30 teams here where teams already eliminated — all these teams here are gonna continue to fight and try to win.”
Even without two of its main pieces, count the Thunder among them, especially with Chris Paul continuing to lead the way for one of the NBA’s biggest surprises this season.
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