Late in the third quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans on Jan. 23, the Memphis Grizzlies had a double-digit lead.

And then, following a recent trend, they blew the lead and lost the game.

Memphis (18-25) lost 133-127 to the Pelicans (11-36) at FedExForum after the Grizzlies’ defense cratered and their offense evaporated in the fourth quarter. It went down as the 12th time this season the Grizzlies have blown a double-digit lead — the most in the NBA.

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“Several communication mistakes in transition, unmarked guys, offensive rebounds, getting to the strong hand,” Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “A lot of mistakes there. Offensively, couldn’t knock down open shots.”

The Grizzlies allowed 40 points in the fourth quarter against the Pelicans and couldn’t stop Saddiq Bey, who scored 36 points. With star guard Ja Morant injured, the Grizzlies couldn’t figure out any way to score consistently down the stretch and didn’t even have a chance to win the game in the final minute.

Iisalo pointed to turnovers. The Grizzlies had 19, while the Pelicans only had 10.

“We know that we’re shorthanded, especially at the big spots,” Iisalo said. “Got to come up with the rebounds and be able to be a little bit more disruptive but it really hurts when we’re throwing the ball away. Because those possessions also accumulate for the other team.”

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It was a strikingly similar story to the Jan. 21 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, where the Grizzlies — with Morant — lost their grasp on the game and couldn’t get it back at the end. Memphis is 2-4 in its last six games, but the Grizzlies have had a double-digit lead in each one of those contests.

There are plenty of reasons for the late-game struggles. The Grizzlies are a young team, which Iisalo pointed to after the Atlanta game. They’ve also been decimated by injuries throughout the season and don’t have many consistent offensive weapons when Morant is out. Then there are the turnovers and the defensive lapses that seem to consistently pop up in the fourth quarter.

“Teams turn it up, and we’ve got to be ready for that when they do,” Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. said. “Especially late in the fourth quarter, and the whole game.”

The Grizzlies are only a couple games out of the play-in, but they’ll have to figure out how to close out games if they’re going to eventually get there.

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“It’s super frustrating,” Grizzlies guard Cedric Coward said. “All we can really do is learn from it and then come in and fix it. But we do got to fix it, and fix it fast. Because we can’t just keep letting that stuff happen.”

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Unpacking another Grizzlies 4th quarter collapse, and why it keeps happening