Sunday afternoon, the Grizzlies faced off against the Utah Jazz and when the final buzzer sounded, they came away with a 123-118 win and pushed their current winning streak to six games.
Let’s get into it.
Memphis was missing two starters. Ja Morant was out with hip soreness and Steven Adams with a non-Covid related illness, so Tyus Jones led the charge from the point guard position and Xavier Tillman Sr. made his first appearance this season in the starting lineup.
A 43-point second quarter put the Grizzlies up by 14 at the half and helped ensure a win. The Jazz outscored the Grizzlies in the second half, but good defense and ball security allowed Memphis to stay on the course to victory. Memphis had a season-high 16 steals and forced the Jazz into 21 turnovers, leading to 27 points for the Grizzlies. Dillon Brooks and Santi Aldama were the only two Memphis players to not record a steal.
Utah guard Jordan Clarkson was ejected near the end of the third quarter for a flagrant foul 2 after hitting Desmond Bane across the face. There was a brief moment where it looked like Clarkson and Jaren Jackson Jr were about to come to blows, and Clarkson was still running his mouth as he was led away from the court.
Desmond Bane is slowly working his way out of a shooting slump that has plagued him since he returned from injury and shot a team-best 4 of 7 from distance. When asked about the altercation with Clarkson, Bane remarked “Yeah, I mean, it was weird. He hit me in the head, of course, and then backpedaled, and I didn’t know if he was squaring up with the ref or [Jaren Jackson Jr.] or what he was doing, so that was kind of funny.”
Head Coach Taylor Jenkins had this to say about Bane’s improving performance postgame: “I think career-high for him in assists, so kudos to him. He’s fully capable of that from a playmaking standpoint, but I think you kind of said it there. As he’s kind of working his way back, he’s still working his way back, finding that energy and that groove, you can still make an impact on the defensive side; you can play make. I love how when the ball is in his hands, he spaces the floor with his movement.”
By The Numbers:
Desmond Bane led all scorers with 24 points, 6 rebounds, a career-high 9 assists, and 2 steals. Bane also led the Grizzlies in outside shooting, going 4 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Tyus Jones finished the night with 21 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. Jones also hit a couple of clutch three-pointers that were key.
Jaren Jackson Jr closed out with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 5 blocks. Jackson is currently leading the odds race for Defensive Player of the Year.
Santi Aldama led the bench unit with 12 points and 5 rebounds, including going 2 of 4 from the three-point line.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies are back at it again tonight, facing off against the San Antonio Spurs. Tip-off is at 7 PM CST.
