sa_butta
01-11-2006, 09:43 AM
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/grizzlies/article/0,1426,MCA_475_4379261,00.html
Grizzlies radio analyst Sean Tuohy delivered the message to the team's bench during a timeout.
Then someone whispered the news to Mike Miller.
He needed just two rebounds to earn the franchise's first triple-double since it became the Memphis Grizzlies. Miller took the floor again with the feat in the front of his mind.
Pushing from the back of his brain were the failures.
Miller remembered his last chances were a couple of years ago when former teammate Jason Williams went down with an injury.
"I missed a triple-double," Miller said, "by one rebound in back-to-back games."
Miller finally grabbed that elusive triple double Tuesday night when his rebound with 1:24 remaining capped a 21-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist performance during the Grizzlies' 99-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings at FedExForum.
Miller, a 6-8 swingman, made up for lost time and so did the Grizzlies, who extended their season-high home winning streak to five games and emphatically put behind them last Saturday's 29-point loss at Chicago.
"It took me 25 years," Miller said of the all-around accomplishment. "Those were the hardest two rebounds I ever had to get."
In more ways than one.
Miller stepped up his play on a left foot that had been troublesome because of a moderately sprained ankle. Miller now moves with pain from the top, middle part of the foot, which he said also swells after games.
His pain threshold, though, was as high as rookie Hakim Warrick's leap. Together, Miller and Warrick provided a much-needed energy boost as the Griz erased an early 15-point deficit because they had plenty in reserve.
Warrick's 16 points and eight rebounds were career highs and helped the Griz bench outscore the Kings' reserves, 39-13. Miller's triple-double also accounted for the NBA's first off the bench since Shawn Bradley amassed 22 points, 22 rebounds and 13 blocks for Dallas on April 7, 1998.
"How do you say how valuable he is to your team?" Griz coach Mike Fratello said, adding that Warrick "added athleticism and more quickness reacting to the ball. There were three or four times we got our hands on the ball above the rim in the second quarter. We weren't getting that in the first quarter."
Warrick started the second period, and threw down a pair of explosive dunks during the Grizzlies' most decisive run of the game. They trailed 46-31 and then bolted ahead of the Kings behind a 21-5 run that ended the first half.
The Griz never trailed again after taking a 52-51 halftime lead, which they earned by getting stops, and limiting the Kings to one shot.
"After that first tip-dunk off a rebound, it really energized not only the team but the crowd, too," Miller said.
The lane opened up for Warrick because the Kings concentrated their defensive effort on slowing down Pau Gasol, who still tossed in 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting.
"My job is to find an open spot and try to finish," said Warrick, who dunked six of his eight field goals. "I tried to bring energy and just do the little things. That's something I know I can do every night."
Bobby Jackson, who along with Shane Battier chipped in 15 points, lauded the effort off the bench because of the Grizzlies' backcourt depth issue without Damon Stoudamire.
"We need at least two guys to come off the bench and give us double-figure scoring," Jackson said. "Somebody has to step up every night, and it was good to see Hakim give us that energy we needed."
Jackson, a former King, enjoyed thumping his former team. The Griz led by 13 points early in the fourth, and when the Kings cut it to 81-75, Jackson tossed in back-to-back 3-pointers that re-established a double-digit advantage.
"I told them I was going to make them if they left me open," Jackson said.
Miller, though, was the Kings' biggest nemesis.
"You can't give a good player opportunities like that," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "He got about five or six shots he shouldn't have gotten."
Fratello perhaps thought the same while watching the first 12 minutes. The Griz appeared flat-footed as Kenny Thomas helped control the boards and his 14 points helped the Kings jump out to a 30-18 by the end of the opening period.
The Kings shot 55 percent in the first, but finished with more turnovers (19) than assists (18) and 45-percent shooting. "We had similar last games," Fratello said, referring to the Grizzlies' loss at Chicago and the Kings' loss against Indiana. "Our hangover lasted longer than theirs did. ... It was a dramatic turnaround form the beginning to how we finished. When we make shots and pass the ball, we're tough to defend."
Grizzlies radio analyst Sean Tuohy delivered the message to the team's bench during a timeout.
Then someone whispered the news to Mike Miller.
He needed just two rebounds to earn the franchise's first triple-double since it became the Memphis Grizzlies. Miller took the floor again with the feat in the front of his mind.
Pushing from the back of his brain were the failures.
Miller remembered his last chances were a couple of years ago when former teammate Jason Williams went down with an injury.
"I missed a triple-double," Miller said, "by one rebound in back-to-back games."
Miller finally grabbed that elusive triple double Tuesday night when his rebound with 1:24 remaining capped a 21-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist performance during the Grizzlies' 99-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings at FedExForum.
Miller, a 6-8 swingman, made up for lost time and so did the Grizzlies, who extended their season-high home winning streak to five games and emphatically put behind them last Saturday's 29-point loss at Chicago.
"It took me 25 years," Miller said of the all-around accomplishment. "Those were the hardest two rebounds I ever had to get."
In more ways than one.
Miller stepped up his play on a left foot that had been troublesome because of a moderately sprained ankle. Miller now moves with pain from the top, middle part of the foot, which he said also swells after games.
His pain threshold, though, was as high as rookie Hakim Warrick's leap. Together, Miller and Warrick provided a much-needed energy boost as the Griz erased an early 15-point deficit because they had plenty in reserve.
Warrick's 16 points and eight rebounds were career highs and helped the Griz bench outscore the Kings' reserves, 39-13. Miller's triple-double also accounted for the NBA's first off the bench since Shawn Bradley amassed 22 points, 22 rebounds and 13 blocks for Dallas on April 7, 1998.
"How do you say how valuable he is to your team?" Griz coach Mike Fratello said, adding that Warrick "added athleticism and more quickness reacting to the ball. There were three or four times we got our hands on the ball above the rim in the second quarter. We weren't getting that in the first quarter."
Warrick started the second period, and threw down a pair of explosive dunks during the Grizzlies' most decisive run of the game. They trailed 46-31 and then bolted ahead of the Kings behind a 21-5 run that ended the first half.
The Griz never trailed again after taking a 52-51 halftime lead, which they earned by getting stops, and limiting the Kings to one shot.
"After that first tip-dunk off a rebound, it really energized not only the team but the crowd, too," Miller said.
The lane opened up for Warrick because the Kings concentrated their defensive effort on slowing down Pau Gasol, who still tossed in 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting.
"My job is to find an open spot and try to finish," said Warrick, who dunked six of his eight field goals. "I tried to bring energy and just do the little things. That's something I know I can do every night."
Bobby Jackson, who along with Shane Battier chipped in 15 points, lauded the effort off the bench because of the Grizzlies' backcourt depth issue without Damon Stoudamire.
"We need at least two guys to come off the bench and give us double-figure scoring," Jackson said. "Somebody has to step up every night, and it was good to see Hakim give us that energy we needed."
Jackson, a former King, enjoyed thumping his former team. The Griz led by 13 points early in the fourth, and when the Kings cut it to 81-75, Jackson tossed in back-to-back 3-pointers that re-established a double-digit advantage.
"I told them I was going to make them if they left me open," Jackson said.
Miller, though, was the Kings' biggest nemesis.
"You can't give a good player opportunities like that," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "He got about five or six shots he shouldn't have gotten."
Fratello perhaps thought the same while watching the first 12 minutes. The Griz appeared flat-footed as Kenny Thomas helped control the boards and his 14 points helped the Kings jump out to a 30-18 by the end of the opening period.
The Kings shot 55 percent in the first, but finished with more turnovers (19) than assists (18) and 45-percent shooting. "We had similar last games," Fratello said, referring to the Grizzlies' loss at Chicago and the Kings' loss against Indiana. "Our hangover lasted longer than theirs did. ... It was a dramatic turnaround form the beginning to how we finished. When we make shots and pass the ball, we're tough to defend."