It's when how the game was won has a lingering effect on a team, such as the Grizzlies coming back from 20 points down early in the fourth quarter at Golden State on Monday night for a 91-90 victory.
The win was a lot like a game last year at Philadelphia, when Memphis trailed by 16 in the fourth period and rallied for the victory. The Grizzlies went on to win their next 10 of 11 games.
Despite the fact Memphis had its seven-game winning streak snapped in Tuesday's 97-84 loss at Portland, the 10-7 Grizzlies showed some fourth-quarter fight despite a lousy third quarter in which they shot 3-of-16 from the field.
"You're down, you're dead, you keep fighting, everybody stays together and all of a sudden you rise up, you come back and you win like that," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. "When you snatch victory from a loss like that, it builds confidence and faith.
"It gives you the confidence you can always come back if you give yourself a chance and have faith in what you are doing. Then, the team starts understanding that no one individual did it, it was done as a team. It helps to bond the team and make the chemistry that much better."
Because the schedule has become more compact with the strike-shortened season, coaches with teams getting beat in the fourth quarter are being faced with the decision when to pull starters and rest them for the next game.
Hollins admits he was close to waving the white flag versus the Warriors.
"I saw a little bit of change of momentum at the end of the third quarter," Hollins said. "I decided to stay with the guys that I thought could give us a chance to come back. If not, I was going to call them off."
Grizzlies veteran guard O.J. Mayo said the victory reinforced how bad Memphis wants to win.
"We're all hungry to win, whatever it takes," Mayo said. "We didn't give up and you like to see that out of every guy in the team.
"I give Coach Hollins a lot of credit, because he's always told us to stay professional, to play hard. Everybody here has gotten better under Coach Hollins. He's about hard work, grit and grind. That's the foundation he laid down the first day he became coach and he hasn't been proven wrong."
The Grizzlies missed their first 12 shots of the third quarter against the Blazers on Tuesday, not hitting a field goal for nearly the first nine minutes.
Playing their third game in four nights with two games left on this four-game road trip, the Grizzlies didn't have much pop in their legs, especially battling for rebounds. Memphis got outrebounded 50-39.
G O.J. Mayo said the only time he and his teammates get aggravated with G Mike Conley is when he's not aggressive enough.
"When you see Mike take control of a game, everybody else follows his lead and gets it done," Mayo said.
Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said his instructions for newcomers Quincy Pondexter, Dante Cunningham and Marreese Speights have been simple.
"They know if they don't rebound and don't defend, they won't play very many minutes," Hollins said.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Everybody is trying to bring it from the first minute." -- Grizzlies C Marc Gasol.
ROSTER REPORT
G O.J. Mayo was extra aggressive attacking the basket, coming off the bench for 20 points versus the Blazers. It was Mayo's fifth straight game scoring in double-figures.
"It's something I worked hard on this summer," said Mayo, who didn't to be characterized as a standstill outside shooter or someone who came off screens looking to solely launch threes. "I'm just happy that this team is playing the right way."
The Grizzlies again got some quality minutes from Quincy Pondexter, who had five points and four rebounds against Portland.
"The coaches didn't really give me a role, they just want me to go and help out team win games," said Pondexter, who started his sixth game on Tuesday with the Grizzlies since being traded from New Orleans. "They want me to go out and play hard and have fun. That's all really told me."
On Tuesday, the Grizzlies exercised the third-year contract option on Pondexter, guaranteeing his contract through the 2012-13 season.
