It’s become the tale of these two teams this season — a tight game ending in a loss for Memphis. Monday night, the Grizzlies battled and fell short against the Houston Rockets in a 120-118 loss. The loss comes less than a week after the Rockets defeated the Grizzlies 119-115 in Memphis.
After leading by as many as 13 points, the Grizzlies could not overcome Houston’s surging offense in the fourth quarter, led by Jalen Green and Amen Thompson. Green led all scorers with 42 points, and added 3 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Turnovers plagued both teams, with Memphis committing 18 turnovers, leading to 27 points, and Houston committing 23 turnovers, leading to 31 points. They were evenly matched in the paint, scoring 48 each, and the Grizzlies had the advantage in fast break points — 29 to 19.
Houston now leads the season series 3-0, and the two teams will meet for a final time on January 30th in Memphis.
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies in scoring with 29 points, and added 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals.
Desmond Bane added 25 points on 9 of 13 overall shooting and 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. He added 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Bane scored 15 of his 25 points in the third quarter, shooting 6 of 8 overall and 2 of 2 from three-point range.
Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 17 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block while shooting 6 of 11 overall and 1 of 3 from beyond the arc.
Jaylen Wells added 14 points and 2 steals.
Jake LaRavia contributed 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies are headed to San Antonio for back-to-back games against the Spurs — Wednesday, January 15, at 7 PM CST and Friday, January 17, at 8:30 PM CST.
