| NFL Snapbacks gave Marcus a chance to play with 90 seconds left in the last game of the season.Marcus missed his first shot and the ball went out of bounds, giving Franklin High possession. Trailing by 10 points, Montanez tossed Marcus the ball with 13 seconds left. Marcus scored, the crowd went wild and a video of Marcus' basket went viral.Paul, who has two young children of his own, was moved by the video and story behind it, so he extended an invitation to Los Angeles via Braun. After the game, Paul met the boys and gave them signed jerseys and posed for photos. Paul's teammates and fellow fathers Lamar Odom, Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes and Grant Hill joined in."I was very happy," Marcus said at halftime of his reaction to the invitation. "Amazing, it's my dream."Montanez said he passed Marcus the ball in a spur of the moment decision."He deserved his chance," he said.Morales said the teens were scheduled to attend a taping of Ellen DeGeneres' talk show on Monday before returning to Texas."We took care of business."Memphis played without forward Zach Randolph, who rested the left ankle he sprained in last Friday's loss to Miami. But the Grizzlies didn't miss him. They never trailed and got contributions from everyone that played, including 49 points from the bench."Obviously,Ymcmb Snapback were looking to get the ball up the court a little faster and make plays," Prince said. "Thirty-one assists (as a team) is great and we shot the ball well from the perimeter. That helped us out a lot."Arron Afflalo and E'Twaun Moore each added 12 points to lead a Magic team that has lost 17 of 19 on its home floor.Orlando is now just 4-31 since Dec. 20, and begins a two-game road trip Monday at New Orleans.The Grizzlies entered Sunday with the fourth-best record in the Western Conference and trailing third-place Los Angeles Clippers by just a game in the loss column.
That gap closed with the Clippers losing to Oklahoma City earlier Sunday.Memphis is now in prime position to gain even more ground in the playoff race this week, thanks to a break in the schedule among playoff contenders. It includes meetings with Cleveland and New Orleans - who are both in last place in their respective divisions - and two games against struggling Portland.The Grizzlies never trailed and pulled their starters early in the fourth quarter, having never seen their lead threatened over the final 24 minutes."It was a good win for us. We came out, had a game plan and we stuck to it," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "Monster Energy Hats just played fluid and together, we got in a flow and caused them some problems. Dallas trails Houston by five games in the loss column and must take advantage of home game against the Rockets on Wednesday. "There's a lot of attention on this because it's two back-to-back games and so it's kind of like a playoff series," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "Hey, we're scratching and clawing. That's where we're at."The Rockets haven't wowed anyone with their defense this season, entering Sunday night ranked 29th in points per game allowed (103.7) and 23rd in defensive rating (107.7 points per 100 possessions). Their defense over the five games since the All-Star break has been worse, with opponents averaging 108 points per game on 49.4 percent shooting. "Since the break NCAA Snapbacks have not played good defense," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "I guess part of that is integrating new guys ... but we've got to make someone uncomfortable." |
