When JaVale McGee ran back on defense without realizing his team actually had the ball, it was hard to imagine any other player (besides McGee) making a mental lapse quite as hilarious as that one.
But thanks to Memphis' O.J. Mayo, there's a new basketball gaffe that goes right up there with McGee's miscue.
During the third quarter of Saturday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks, Zach Randolph won a jump ball over Vince Carter and tapped it back toward Quincy Pondexter and Mayo. Pondexter retrieved the ball while Mayo, well, he just kept on running. Much like John Wall during McGee's bizarre mistake, Pondexter could do nothing but watch his teammate run to the wrong basket. Eventually, Mayo got his bearings and came back to run the offense.
Fortunately for the Grizzlies, that happened to be one of their few mistakes in the game as they went on to beat the defending NBA champions, 94-89. The Grizzlies followed up that win with a triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. That makes three straight wins for Memphis, who are lurking just a 1/2 game back of the Clips in the Western Conference standings. With the teams currently battling for the No. 4 seed, this game could prove pivotal in deciding which team has home-court advantage in an eventual first-round playoff matchup. Of couse, given Mayo's apparent lack of familiarity with the floor at the FedEx Forum, it's possible that Memphis isn't overly concerned with where they play.
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