NEW ORLEANS – James Posey knew the situation as he streaked down the sideline, ball in hand and a chance for New Orleans to at least tie Wednesday night’s game against Memphis and send it to overtime.
But with no timeouts at his disposal and the clock winding down following a Rudy Gay miss at the free-throw line, Posey did the one thing he and the Hornets couldn’t afford.
He turned the ball over.
Gay picked off the errant pass from Posey, threw down a dunk and tossed the Hornets to a 104-100 defeat.
“I saw Marcus (Thornton) had stopped and saw Peja (Stojakovic),” Posey said. “Then I thought I had penetrated far enough to have a kick back and Rudy Gay intercepted it. We were able to come back and still have a chance to win. We weren’t able to pull this one out and that hurts.”
And in so doing, the Hornets fall to 31-31, the first time they’ve been as bad as .500 since Jan. 4, and into a tie for 10th in the Western Conference with Houston. Memphis (31-30) vaults ahead of both New Orleans and the Rockets and into ninth with the win.
“I don’t think the door is closing,” Hornets guard Morris Peterson said. “We all still in this locker room have confidence we can get the job done. Until there’s no opportunity, until there’s no chance to get into the playoffs, that’s going to be our mentality.”
New Orleans couldn’t overcome 20 total turnovers and a difference at the foul line, where the Hornets took only 13 shots compared to Memphis’ 38.
It also couldn’t overcome Mike Conley, who led the Grizzlies with 26 points and seven assists. He was nearly matched by teammate Zach Randolph, who hit for 23 points and 11 rebounds.
“It’s a tough way to finish the game,” Hornets Head Coach/General Manager Jeff Bower said. “In the close, we gave ourselves a chance at the very end there. The scoring problems we had in the final minutes made it difficult. We thought we had a chance to win the thing up until the end.”
While Posey will take much of the blame for the loss, it’s not just on his shoulders. With the Hornets clinging to a lead late in the fourth quarter, New Orleans threw the ball away five times in the final 4½ minutes helping to keep the Grizzlies in the game.
Still, New Orleans nearly had a chance to steal this one despite trailing by five with 17.4 seconds to play.
First, Marc Gasol fouled Stojakovic from beyond the arc and the forward made all three free throws, making it a 100-98 game. Randolph made both free throws and then David West dunked the Hornets to within 102-100.
That’s when Conley, who was 3-for-3 at that point from the foul line, was sent there by Posey. He missed the first off the front of the rim, then his second spun out and into Posey’s hands.
But the complete comeback wasn’t to be and now the Hornets fight for their postseason lives over the next 20 games.
Marcus Thornton scored 24 points to lead New Orleans, with Stojakovic adding 18 points and nine rebounds and Darren Collison recording 17 points and 14 assists. Also for New Orleans, David West had 15 points and Emeka Okafor had 10.
THIRD QUARTER
Hornets lead 76-74: Five Hornets are in double figures, led by Marcus Thornton's 17 points and Darren Collison's 14 points and 10 assists. But Aaron Gray's 5 points and 6 rebounds off the bench have proven crucial.
New Orleans still hasn't figured out how to get a rebound over Memphis - the Grizzlies lead that stat 32-25. But New Orleans' defense is getting better, holding Memphis to 6 of 17 of shooting in the third quarter.
The Hornets, for the first time in at least a week, didn't fall behind by more than 15 points to begin the third quarter.
SECOND QUARTER
Grizzlies lead 54-51: New Orleans rookies combined for 27 points and the rest of the Hornets had 24 points. That's not a recipe for success lately and thus far, it's proving unsuccessful. Memphis is taking advantage of its size by outrebounding the Hornets 19-13 and New Orleans is allowing 56.4 percent shooting by Memphis.
Zach Randolph has 12 points and Mike Conley 11 to pace Memphis.
The Hornets did end the half with a spurt, outscoring Memphis 10-5 in the final three minutes of the half, including a three-point play by Darren Collison, who finished the half with 14 points and seven assists.
FIRST QUARTER
Grizzlies lead 29-24: O.J. Mayo and Zach Randolph combined for 13 points and Memphis outrebounded the Hornets 10-9 to earn a five-point lead after the first quarter.
New Orleans, down by as many as nine points, battled back to within 24-22 with a 7-0 run. But Memphis closed with a 5-2 swing to hold onto the lead.
Darren Collison led the Hornets with nine points and four assists.
PREGAME
31-30 Hornets projected starters: Darren Collison, Emeka Okafor, Morris Peterson, Peja Stojakovic, David West
30-30 Grizzlies projected starters: Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, Zach Randolph
Notes:
- The last time these two teams met, the Hornets overcame a 21-point deficit to post a 109-102 win. It tied the second-largest comeback infranchise history.
- In that game, Darren Collison set the rookie record with 18 assists, breaking the previous record of 16 set by Chris Paul in 2006.
- Darius Songaila will play tonight for the first time since spraining his ankle two weeks ago against Indiana.
- Sean Marks (sprained right shoulder) and Chris Paul (left knee surgery) both will be out against Memphis.
- Peja Stojakovic is 68 pointsshy of becoming the all-time becoming the all-time leading scorer by a Serbian player.
Quoting Jeff Bower
"It's an important game. It'll move one of us closer to the place we want to be as far as playoff positioning goes," Bower, answering how he'd classify tonight's game.
"Probably the biggest reason is the players getting comfortable with changes and adjustments that are made in the flow of the game and finally being able to lock into the offensive actions. That may be the biggest reason," Bower, responding to why the first six minutes of the third quarter are so tough.
