The Memphis Grizzlies got their star point guard back, but still lost 1to the Houston Rockets, 119-115. Memphis is 0-2 against Houston this season, and with their win, the Rockets take a 1.5-game lead over the Grizzlies for the second seed in the Western Conference.
The highlight of the game was Ja Morant’s return to action after missing five games due to a right AC joint sprain he suffered against the New Orleans Pelicans on December 27th. Morant led the Grizzlies with a team-high 27 points, and added 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Houston dominated throughout the first quarter, led by center Alperen Sengun’s 16 points. Memphis did themselves no favors in the first, committing four turnovers that led to eight points by the Rockets. If that sounds familiar, it’s because turnovers are the Grizzlies kryptonite this season.
Tightening up their ball handling and security would have made all the difference for Memphis, as most of their 20 turnovers were unforced — resulting from bad passes and sloppy ball handling. The Rockets converted those turnovers into 31 points, while limiting their own turnovers to 13, which led to 11 points by the Grizzlies. Houston had 12 more field goal attempts than Memphis, a product of the aforementioned turnovers.
Memphis did not lie down without a fight, and they were able to claw back and gain the lead from 17 points down in the third quarter.
The game also saw the return of Santi Aldama, who had missed six games due to a left ankle sprain. Aldama led the bench with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Former Memphis Grizzly Dillon Brooks managed to commit a technical foul in the first 30 seconds of the game. Brooks, who was drafted by the Grizzlies in 2017 and played in Memphis for his first six seasons in the league, was not much help to Houston offensively, scoring just 5 points on 2 of 15 overall shooting and 1 of 8 from beyond the arc.
Neither team shot the long ball particularly well, with Memphis shooting a dismal 31.2% (10 of 32) from three-point range and Houston shooting 38.2% (13 of 34).
One small bright spot in this matchup was the Grizzlies dominating 62-48 in the paint.
By the numbers:
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a season-high 6 blocks.
Desmond Bane was the only other starter to score in double figures, finishing with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.
Santi Aldama led the bench, as mentioned, and Luke Kennard added 11 points and 2 assists.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies hit the road for the next four games, starting with Minnesota, where they will face off against Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves on Saturday night. Tip-off is at 7 PM CST.
