While most contenders in the Western Conference are rounding into postseason form, the Memphis Grizzlies still need to find theirs. The team lost its third straight game in lopsided fashion Sunday, 103-89, to the San Antonio Spurs, and doesn't have much time to get back on track before the regular season concludes.
NBA scores 2015: Grizzlies suffer another lopsided loss, Suns’ playoff hopes on last leg
Concern builds in Memphis and D.C., the race for the final seeds in the East and the rest of the action from Sunday in the NBA.
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One loss to a talented team like San Antonio wouldn’t be cause for concern, but this signals a concerning trend for Memphis. The team has now lost three consecutive games by an average margin of nearly 20 points while other top teams have been rattling off victories. The Grizzlies are the only top-six team in the West that has lost recently.
As you can tell from the record, the Grizzlies’ overall record remains impressive. However, the past few games paint a less encouraging picture. After losing 111-89 to Cleveland on Wednesday and 107-84 to Golden State on Friday, the team couldn’t match up with another contender on Sunday. For a team that’s hoping to win its first championship, failing to keep up with fellow top teams isn’t a great look.
The Spurs raced out to a 14-4 lead early Sunday, and maintained a nine-point advantage going into halftime. The Grizzlies rallied to cut the deficit to four points after three quarters, but quickly fell apart in the final period. Six minutes into the fourth, it was 92-77 and the game was more or less out of reach.
Other than Zach Randolph, who finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds, there wasn't much to like from the Grizzlies' performance. The team grabbed just three offensive rebounds, got crushed on the boards overall, 48-34, and shot 44 percent from the field.
Randolph, Jeff Green (19 points) and Marc Gasol (16 points) might have gotten their points, but the Grizzlies have always won with strong defense. That wasn't the case Sunday, as the Spurs shot 51 percent and committed just eight turnovers. Kawhi Leonard had a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Tiago Splitter wasn't far off with 15 and eight.
Even if we're talking about some elite opponents in the Cavaliers, Warriors and Spurs, that's three straight bad losses for Memphis with just eight games remaining in the season. The team has a favorable matchup Monday against Sacramento, but finishes with a rough seven-game slate after that: OKC, Washington, New Orleans, Utah, L.A. Clippers, Golden State and Indiana. If the Grizzlies want to enter the playoffs with any semblance of momentum, they'll need to play much better than they have over the past week.
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Things aren't getting better in D.C. The Washington Wizards' odds of earning homecourt advantage for the first round of the playoffs are increasingly remote after a 99-91 loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday. John Wall and Randy Wittman both openly complained about the team's performance after the game, particularly when it came to running plays in the halfcourt offense. "We were running things that I've never seen before. We weren't focused on what we needed to do from an offensive standpoint," Wittman said after the game. Washington entered the season with high expectations, but the team has a 12-20 record since Jan. 19 and now sits 2.5 games behind Toronto for the No. 4 seed in the East. Given how much better the Wizards have played at home (26-12) than on the road (15-21), missing out on one of those top four seeds would be a legitimate disappointment.
The bottom of the East playoff race is heating up. Or at least, it's heating up as much as a race between a bunch of below-.500 teams can. The Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat all won Sunday, maintaining a close five-team battle for the No. 7 and 8 seeds that also includes the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets. Indiana's 104-99 win over the Dallas Mavericks was especially impressive, but Miami and Brooklyn have the final two spots at the moment. The Heat beat the Detroit Pistons, 109-102, on Sunday, while the Nets beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 107-99. All five teams are still within 2.5 games with just a couple weeks to play.
| Team | W-L | GB |
| Heat | 34-39 | -- |
| Nets | 32-40 | -- |
| Celtics | 32-41 | 0.5 |
| Pacers | 32-41 | 0.5 |
| Hornets | 31-41 | 1 |
Phoenix is on the brink of elimination. The Suns appeared to be on their way to a much-needed win over the Thunder on Sunday, leading 62-54 entering halftime. Oklahoma City rallied in the second half, however, handing Phoenix a 109-97 defeat and a major blow to its playoff hopes. The Thunder started the fourth quarter on a 19-4 run, and the Suns didn't really have a chance once they were down by 12. Russell Westbrook finished with 33 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for OKC, which now has a four-game advantage over Phoenix (and a 2.5-game lead over New Orleans) for the No. 8 seed in the West.
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Final scores
Brooklyn Nets 107, Los Angeles Lakers 99 (Nets Daily recap | Silver Screen and Roll recap)
Cleveland Cavaliers 87, Philadelphia 76ers 86 (Fear The Sword recap | Liberty Ballers recap)
Los Angeles Clippers 119, Boston Celtics 106 (Clips Nation recap | CelticsBlog recap)
Miami Heat 109, Detroit Pistons 102 (Hot Hot Hoops recap | Detroit Bad Boys recap)
Houston Rockets 99, Washington Wizards 91 (The Dream Shake recap | Bullets Forever recap)
San Antonio Spurs 103, Memphis Grizzlies 89 (Pounding The Rock recap | Grizzly Bear Blues recap)
Indiana Pacers 104, Dallas Mavericks 99 (Indy Cornrows recap | Mavs Moneyball recap)
Oklahoma City Thunder 109, Phoenix Suns 97 (Welcome To Loud City recap | Bright Side of the Sun recap)
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