For weeks, it appeared the Grizzlies were trapped in a sports-centric reboot of the 1993 classic, Groundhog Day. Losses piled up in the same manner, night after night — mostly competent-played first halves completely undone by second-half collapses, often in the third quarter.



The Grizzlies have been one of the worst teams at finishing games during their current 7-23 skid, which follows a 12-5 start to the season that briefly put the NBA on notice. On paper, Memphis’ loss to an Anthony Davis-less Pelicans team on Monday doesn’t appear much different from other recent, deflating losses.



It felt different, though. It was the team’s annual MLK Celebration Day home game, a day that the Grizzlies pull out all stops for to honor Martin Luther King Jr. It was also a nationally-televised affair against a team missing its best player and the first of a five-game homestand following a tough road trip. The Grizzlies’ playoff window may have already...