On the second night of a back-to-back, the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the San Antonio Spurs 121-113 to complete their seventh straight victory, which is the longest active winning streak in the association.
Memphis’ record at home now stands at 17-3 after the victory. The Grizzlies improved to 27-13 on the season.
Due to right thigh soreness, Ja Morant missed his second consecutive game. In Morant’s absence, Tyus Jones assumed the role of floor general and put on a performance of his own, leading all scorers with 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting, six assists and three steals.
After the game, Jones talked about his relationship with Morant. He said, “Me and Ja are extremely close. We’re always talking hoops and what we see to help one another out. Coming here, I knew what my role was going to be, but Ja was extremely open to welcoming me, welcoming that relationship, and that was extremely huge.”
“You don’t always see that with No. 2 picks coming in with the keys to the franchise but still being open to learning or pointers, talking through what you see and just being a good teammate,” added Jones. “Our relationship has taken off since that first year with us both being point guards and both wanting to get better and not feeling like we know it all. That’s been huge. Both of us are humble enough to say we don’t know everything and talk the game through and take pointers from each other.”
Jones has scored 20 plus points in his last four starts. So what’s the secret behind Jones’ improved play? One word: confidence.
The Duke alum said about the difference in his aggressiveness this season, “Just confidence. Confident in my abilities, confidence in my game. The guys in this locker room, this coaching staff are extremely confident in me as well and just give me that freedom to hoop. I’m just trying to take advantage of that, playing my game and doing what everybody needs me to do on a nightly basis. And if that’s scoring, if that’s being aggressive, looking to score, if that’s setting my guys up… just doing whatever it takes. That confidence is definitely there, and I can tell.”
Jaren Jackson Jr. continues to impress on both ends of the floor. The Block Panther finished with 16 points, six rebounds and back-to-back games with five blocked shots. The 23-year-old set new franchise records with 11 straight games of 2 or more blocks, surpassing Pau Gasol, and six-straight games with three or more blocks. He now ranks third in the NBA in total blocks (79) after having played just 24 games this season.
“There are so many great stretches that he’s done protecting the rim,” said Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins on Jackson’s rim protection. “He set a tone on that first quarter with multiple; I think there were a couple possessions. One, in particular, where he had two blocks on the same; he does that seemingly every single night.”
Jenkins continued: “It’s just very impressive what he does on both ends of the floor. I think he’s playing really well on the offensive end too. When he sets a tone defensively, that means a lot. We had him switch in, guarding shooters there. At one point in the fourth quarter, I thought he did a really good job. We know what he can do on the on the rim, protection wise. I’m not [going to] apply a grade, but this is definitely a great stretch.”
In the last seven games, Jackson is averaging 18.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.9 blocks while shooting 55 percent from the field.
Jackson believes he’s a better shot blocker now than he was in his younger years. He said, “I think guards were just worse back then, and I could just let them go by and surprise them, but now I think I’m definitely better. Who knows? It wasn’t really in my head to do all this. Blocking shots, like maybe a year ago, I wasn’t even thinking about it. I was just trying to stay out there, play solid defense and be stronger and just deter shots. Blocks are icing on the cake.”
Up Next
Both teams will play again at FedExForum on Wednesday night, as Memphis looks to extend its win streak to a season-high eight straight games.
