Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay sounds as if he would like to treat the early part of this season like a casual round of golf with some friends. That is, he's like to take a mulligan. About three weeks ago, with Allen Iverson finally getting well, the cohesion of the Grizzlies was wrecked and the team spun into a six-game losing skid. It's no accident that since Iverson quit for good in a huff, the Grizzlies have played with pride, passion and unselfishness. The players you thought would elevate their games, such as Gay and O.J. Mayo, have done so.
Including his 24 points and eight rebounds in Monday's victory over the Kings, Gay is averaging 25.5 points and 9.3 rebounds in his last four games. He is the poster child for why the Grizzlies have won four of their last five games.
"We're a new team from how we played them (at Sacramento on Nov. 2)," Gay said. "We have to show people that (the Grizzlies' team from earlier in the season) is not us.
"We came out of training camp with basically a new team. It's taken time to get used to each other. You have to be comfortable with each other. Now, we know each other better. Our chemistry is a lot better.
"We're more mature now. We're tougher. We're better defensively. We help each other out. We've learned a lot since then."
GRIZZLIES 116, KINGS 105: For the second time in the last threes games, the Grizzlies led from start to finish as they won for the fourth time in the last five games.
A 35-point second quarter, keyed by good ball movement and unselfishness, gave them a big cushion. Though the Kings cut the lead to single digits in the last three minutes, Rudy Gay (24 points) and O.J. Mayo (20) made the big plays so the Grizzlies could hold on.
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