Close games haven’t been too kind to the Grizzlies this season. Until Friday night, Memphis had lost five straight games decided by five points or less.
Those losses have been difficult and disappointing, to say the least. It was good for the team to get that monkey off of their backs against Portland. In a pivotal win, the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Trailblazers 130–128 at the Moda Center.
With playoff implications, the Grizzlies got the job done behind Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks, and Jaren Jackson, Jr. who was appearing in his second game of the season. It was the Blazers’ fourth straight loss.
With the win, the Grizzlies moved to 30–28 on the season, while the Blazers fell to 32–27. With the loss, the Blazers moved to the seventh spot in the West and fell a half-game behind Dallas, with Memphis 1.5 games behind Portland.
An Aggressive Morant
Morant finished with 33 points, 13 assists, and five rebounds on 11 of 17 shooting with zero turnovers, and he was aggressive from the start. During the post-game media availability, Morant explained why he has been attacking early: “I just got to be more aggressive”, he said. “Whether it’s attacking downhill to help find my teammates or for me to score. I feel like some of these games when we start out slow is my fault. Since I’m the point guard, I gotta push the pace.”
Morant set another franchise milestone with his performance
Dillon the Menace
Brooks chipped in 25 points and tried his best to make it difficult for Damian Lillard. After the game, Brooks said, “I just try to tire him out and full-court him every time. (I) use a lot of physicality, give him something different a lot of players don’t give to him. Physicality and a little trash-talking making every single shot tough. Obviously, he’s a great player and he’ll score his points, but I just try to make it tough on him.”
Welcome Back, Jaren Jackson, Jr
“I still have my minute caps so you know it’s going game by game and progressively get back to full form and I’m playing like 28 to 30 minutes a game,” Jackson said.
He added, “But for now I feel pretty good out there. There are times at the end of stretches where you’re a little tired, but I’m feeling pretty good.”
After only playing 18 minutes in his season debut on Wednesday night against the Clippers, Jackson played 25 minutes against the Blazers and hit clutch free throws to help seal the victory. He finished the game with 23 points on 10 of 14 shooting off the bench. An impressive night for the Michigan State alum.
Xavier Tillman Sr. was on fire from the start and chipped in 12 points on 6-8 shooting, six rebounds, and two blocks in 23 minutes. Tillman has been huge for Memphis in the absence of starting center Jonas Valanciunas.
Up Next
The same teams will do it all over again on Sunday afternoon with the same playoff implications. Tip-off at 3:00 pm CST at the Moda Center.
