MEMPHIS - Shareef Abdur-Rahim and the Atlanta Hawks were desperate for a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
``He talked about this game all week,'' Atlanta guard Jason Terry said. ``He was saying: 'Guys, you can't let me lose this one.' We all knew how hard he wanted to win this.''
Abdur-Rahim, facing his former team for the first time, had 22 points and 13 rebounds in the Hawks' 113-109 victory over Memphis on Friday night.
Jason Terry added 20 points and 11 assists for the Hawks.
Atlanta acquired Abdur-Rahim in a trade for Lorenzen Wright, Brevin Knight and the rights to first-round pick Pau Gasol.
Abdur-Rahim, who spent five seasons with the Grizzlies in Vancouver, was focused on the game long before the start.
``I did not want to lose,'' Abdur-Rahim said. ``I think anybody in my situation would feel that way, but most importantly, we needed a win and we got it. I was really jacked up in the beginning, and it hurt me a little bit, but I was able to settle down.''
Shane Battier led five Grizzlies in double figures with 22 points. Stromile Swift had 19 points, including seven straight to keep Memphis in the game late. Jason Williams and Grant Long had 17 each for Memphis, which lost its third straight.
Grizzlies coach Sidney Lowe was frustrated by his team's play down the stretch, saying some of his players were ``selfish'' and didn't play together when the game was on the line.
``Sometimes you have to accept you're not playing well. Tonight, some of our guys didn't want to accept that,'' Lowe said, adding: ``I haven't seen it from this team before. I was shocked and did not like it.''
The Hawks took an 85-84 lead into the fourth after Toni Kukoc scored on a layup late in the third period.
The teams were tied three times midway through the period before the Hawks opened a five-point advantage behind Terry and Emanual Davis, who finished with 10 points.
But Swift scored seven straight points for the Grizzlies in just over two minutes to tie it at 104 with 1:13 to play.
Turnovers and missed shots hindered Memphis down the stretch, and the Hawks went 6-of-8 on free throws in the final minute.
``I don't think they do much to you defensively,'' said reserve point guard Brevin Knight, who had 16 points. ``This is all on us. We just made some bad plays toward the end, and that's why we lost.''
The Grizzlies led 61-57 at halftime behind Battier's 15 points. Williams had 13 points and six assists.
Kukoc scored 12 points to lead the Hawks in the first half, shooting 5-of-7 from the field. He finished with 17 points.
Notes: Gasol, the Grizzlies' leading scorer, got off only one shot in 18 minutes in the first half but had nine rebounds. He finished with six points... Memphis' Grant Long missed a free throw in the third quarter after hitting 18 straight. ... The Hawks are 8-3 when leading or tied after three quarters. ... Memphis blocked eight shots in the first half and a season-high 11 for the game
Tuesday
August 5th, 2025
2:23AM
