VANCOUVER, British Columbia — This may have been the end. And so, the Vancouver Grizzlies and their few, frustrated fans said goodbye.
The Grizzlies ended what probably was their last their home schedule Saturday night like each of their previous six seasons on Canada's West Coast, dropping a 100-95 decision to the Houston Rockets, who rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit.
The Grizzlies did not formally acknowledge that the team was likely playing their last game in Vancouver, and the NBA's management council is still considering plans that could move the franchise to Memphis, Tenn. There also is a slim chance the team will stay in Vancouver.
But the fans and the players knew the story.
There were telltale signs throughout the contest. Highlights of the Grizzlies' miserable run in Vancouver were played during most time-outs on video boards. No members of management addressed the crowd, but Shareef Abdur-Rahim, the best player in franchise history, spoke after the game to fans, who were largely positive in their support.
"That (support) didn't surprise me," said teary-eyed Vancouver veteran Tony Massenburg, one of the few free agents to ever re-sign with the Grizzlies. "I've been a lot of places. I've closed out a lot of arenas but this one was different because of the circumstances."
In the game's final minute, the crowd at GM Place rose and heckled owner Michael Heisley, who wasn't there.
After acquiring the team in June, Heisley applied to move the franchise after the NBA All-Star game in February, citing losses which he claimed will approach $46 million this season, and has not returned to Vancouver since.
"I won't even pretend to understand what the fans are going through," Vancouver's Grant Long said. "From a fan's standpoint they are saddened by it and we are too."
The loss left the Grizzlies with a lifetime home record of 66-220 (.300), the worst percentage among the 65 franchises in league history. At 100-358 overall, the Grizzlies will also be last in league history regardless of the outcome of their final two road games.
The crowd of 18,571 was 622 fans short of a sellout, which would have been only the third of the season. The team finished its sixth season with an average attendance of 13,737, which is better than three other teams this season.
"The hardest part for me is that I've always been made to feel so at home here," said Abdur-Rahim, who was the team's top pick of the 1996 draft. "It's been an honor for me to go out and play front of them. I appreciate them and I love them for that. I don't know that we'll find that anywhere else."
"The guys I grew up playing were drafted by one team in one city. That's always been in the back of my mind as an NBA player, or as a kid growing up. You go to one team, you play and you win in that city, you retire in that city. That's the dream; the way you would paint it if everything was perfect. But in a world that's not perfect, things happen; teams move."
"I love this game and I know fans love the game, and if it is taken away from them, they're going to have a void," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said.
In the game's dying moments, a fan wearing a Grizzlies mask dashed out on the court. He was quickly tackled by security.
Many in the crowd carried signs, some venting anger at the NBA.
"I no longer love this game," one said.
Others chose to remember the good times.
"100 wins is better than none," one sign said. "Thanks Grizz."