Mario Chalmers was the feel-good story of an otherwise gutting offseason for the Memphis Grizzlies, garnering the last roster spot after the team let veteran Vince Carter, Zach Randolph, and Tony Allen walk this summer after opting to go in a different direction.

But the veteran floor general didn't do himself any favors in a narrow loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, blowing the last three possessions with a chance to take down the red-hot, up-and-coming Eastern Conference team after forward Aaron Gordon hit a three-pointer to give them the lead.

Chalmers first took on a congested lane and fired a pass to the corner, which landed out of bounds, turning the ball over in the process. Then he was fortunate enough to get his hands on a steal after Terrence Ross slipped and fell to the ground, turning the ball over — Chalmers ran up court with it and tried to draw a foul against Nikola Vucevic — one that never came, giving the ball right back to the Magic.

If that wasn't enough, Chalmers would get one last precious chance with an open three, one which he clanked off the back of the rim, letting Orlando walk away with the win in front of the fans at the FedEx Forum.

https://youtu.be/n4hxlWNO-tg

“We didn’t deserve to win the game,” said coach David Fizdale, according to Mike Ceide of WREG TV. “We didn’t deserve to win the game. Our huddles were a joke tonight. Our communication was ridiculous. No one owned anything tonight.”

“Mario made a ridiculous play. I don’t really need to go too deep into that, and he heard it from, and he understands that. In the heat of the moment, he couldn’t own it. And that’s exactly what I meant. Twenty-five-thousand people was in here and saw that was the most ridiculous play of the whole game. But because of his brain was gone, he couldn’t just own it that it was a bonehead play.”

David Fizdale
Joel Auerbach/The Associated Press

Fizdale has been known for calling it the way he sees it, and it didn't take long for Chalmers to finally own to his mistakes only moments after the game.

“No issue at all. He’s 100 percent right,” said Chalmers of his coach's comments during the post-game press conference. “Take ownership for the last, what?, two plays – the turnover, the missed layup, the missed 3. That’s on me. I filled in for Mike. I’ve got to be the person to take control like Mike takes control and run the team, and I didn’t do that tonight.”

“That’s all on me. I feel like I lost the game for us.”