Warriors Rally Past Vancouver

The Vancouver Grizzlies have had trouble finishing games all year. So it was too much to expect them to do anything different in their home finale.

The Golden State Warriors snapped a five-game losing streak by outscoring the Grizzlies 31-22 in the fourth quarter on their way to a 91-83 victory on Monday night.

"It was very disappointing to lose the last home game of the year. The fourth quarter was like a microcosm of our whole season," said coach Brian Hill, whose Grizzlies lost their sixth straight and 12th of their last 13. "I don't know what else I can say, but we don't seem to be able to sustain the concentration and the focus mentally to be able to do what we have to do physically in the fourth quarters of games."

Things didn't get that ugly on Monday, but another season of frustration for the lowly Grizzlies has taken its toll.

"It did sum up the season," said Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who led the Grizzlies for the 39th time this season with 20 points. "It's been a tough season. You just kind of try to forget about it and move on. Losing's not fun."

With one game left in their season, the Grizzlies still need one victory to avoid finishing with their worst win-loss percentage. Vancouver, whose league-worst record dropped to 8-41 (.163), finished 14-68 (.171) in the 1996-97 season. As well, Vancouver has never won its final home game in its four seasons in the NBA.

Donyell Marshall and Terry Cummings scored 18 points each for the Warriors, who overcame a 20-turnover performance 17 in the first three quarters in beating the Grizzlies for the fourth straight time.

The game turned on a curious non-call from the officials late in the third quarter.

With Vancouver leading 61-55, the Grizzlies appeared to get a key stop when Chris Mills' shot was blocked and appeared to fall well short of the basket just as the 24-second clock expired. The referees, however, called for a reset of the shot clock and Muggsy Bogues drained a 20-footer seconds later.

Golden State scored five straight points, including Bogues' free throw when Hill got a technical foul for arguing with referee Bernie Fryer, to trail 61-60 at the end of the quarter.

The Grizzlies never seemed to recover.

The Warriors eventually went on a 14-6 run and took the lead for good, 69-67, when Erick Dampier rebounded his own miss, laid the ball in, was fouled and completed a three-point play with 7:08 remaining.

Golden State trailed the entire game before John Starks hit a 3-point shot to put the Warriors up 66-65 with 8:23 left in regulation.

Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo admitted the breaks went his team's way.

Asked if he saw Mills' shot hit the rim, Carlesimo smiled and replied: "Chris said it just grazed the rim. ... One of the pebbles (on the basketball) caught the rim."

Said Mills: "It did graze it, I thought. You could've called it either way. ... I think that was kind of the turning point."

Then, laughing, Mills added, "I went up to coach Hill and said, `Coach, I think it grazed the rim.' "

The Grizzlies refused to chalk up the loss to that one call.

"I thought it was a big call, but I don't think that turned the tide," said Hill. "Our defense in the fourth quarter was the difference. We just didn't play defense in the fourth quarter like we did in the first three." Notes: Grizzlies back-up point guard Lee Mayberry, who's missed all but nine games with an assortment of injuries, will undergo a rarely used ultrasound procedure called lithrotrypsy to determine the extent of tendinitis that has troubled both of his knees. ... The Grizzlies, who've lost a franchise-worst 22 straight road games and are a league-low 1-23 on the road this season, close out their season at Sacramento on Wednesday. ... Following the game, the Grizzlies gave away 15 game-worn jerseys to fans as part of their season-ending fan appreciation night.

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