Knicks win to give David Fizdale a happy return to Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It has been not quite a year since the day David Fizdale was fired as coach of the Memphis Grizzlies. The wounds have healed, but with his return to FedExForum for the first time Sunday, there still were things to be settled.

It marked the first time that Fizdale and Grizzlies star Marc Gasol were in the same place after their rift led to Fizdale’s firing. And there were simple logistics to work out as he made his way into the arena for the first time as an opposing coach.

“It’s weird. I ain’t going to lie,” Fizdale said. “It’s weird. I pulled in and, OK, I’m not parking in my spot. J.B. [Bickerstaff] is in in my damn spot. Seeing everybody, I didn’t even know what metal detector to walk through. All the stuff was backwards for me . . . I just felt like everything is at peace with the relationships. So I feel really good walking back in here.”

Fizdale felt much better — if colder — leaving the arena. When he walked into the locker room after the game, his players greeted him with water and ice, soaking him to celebrate a 103-98 win over the Grizzlies. It moved the coach to tears.

“You’re getting me emotional. I can’t put it into words,” he said. “I really didn’t want this game to be about me at all because they just started playing some good basketball and I didn’t want to take the focus off that with us chopping our tree. The effort what they put out for me and what they said to me after the game was — I love these kids.

“They soaked me down with freaking water. My suit is ruined. Emmanuel [Mudiay] came up to me, him and Tim [Hardaway Jr.] both, were just hugging me and telling me it was for me. And then they all came in and I lost it. Because it’s just some good kids in that locker room playing hard and trying to get better and that meant a lot to me, that they put forth that effort with me in mind.”

It was the third straight improbable win for the Knicks, who have beaten the Celtics in Boston, the Pelicans at the Garden and now the Grizzlies. They turned a 13-point deficit into a seven-point lead with a 23-3 run in the third quarter.

With the Knicks up 94-93, Trey Burke stole a pass by Garrett Temple  and fed Mudiay for a fast-break dunk. He soared over Temple, threw it down, drew a foul on the play and pushed the Knicks' lead to 97-93 with 1:35 remaining. 

“It was ferocious,” Fizdale said. “It was the stamp on it, the exclamation point. He just wanted to bring it home so bad.”

Hardaway finished with 22 points. Enes Kanter had 21 points, including 14 in the third quarter, and a career-high 26 rebounds, and Mudiay added 17 points. Gasol had 27 points and Mike Conley Jr. added 23 points and 11 assists for the Grizzlies, who had a franchise-record 19 blocks, including seven by Jaren Jackson Jr. and five by Gasol.

Time has passed and Fizdale is in a better place — mentally at least, if not in the standings.

"People get traded, cut. Coaches get hired, rehired. All of that stuff happens. That can’t be the determinant on your relationships,'' he said. "I put a lot into these guys. I just feel like I deserve to have relationships with these guys. I poured it into them and they poured it back into me and I became a better coach because of it. That’s why I feel so good about it and I’m at peace.

“It didn’t really take me long,” he said. “I was down about losing my job for a while. But the idea of being angry or anything like that, that went away fast. The other thing is J.B. is basically my blood. Anything that’s happening to him, that’s more important than anything I might be down about. So I am just really happy for him. He was a guy who was chomping at the bit to be a head coach and he deserves to be one of 30.”

Bickerstaff, who took over when Fizdale was fired, was asked what he learned from Fizdale during his time as an assistant on the staff and joked, “Absolutely nothing” before adding, “I think him coming from a championship pedigree in Miami, understanding how they go about business every single day.”

Before the game, Gasol never came near Fizdale. Conley trotted over and hugged him. When the game ended, Gasol embraced Fizdale on the court.

Fizdale is convinced that the divide between him and Gasol is in the past. “It was a hug we needed to have a long time ago,” Fizdale said. “I’m really proud of the man that he’s becoming. He’s a hell of a player, obviously. It’s hard to have an answer for him tonight. And that’s a heck of a team over there that he’s leading. We just exchanged some really kind words and love about each other’s family. I wish him well.”

Earlier, he said, "That’s not going to be a story anymore for you guys. He and I both. He pulled a migrant out of the ocean this summer. That’s way more important than a basketball beef. He and I both know it and we were like, man, we’re going to be seeing each other too much, our wives love each other. He has a beautiful family and I think it’s pretty cool that at a time that we all live in when people are so mad at each other and here we are two guys and we squashed it and we’re cool.”