The luck of the Irish was not with the Memphis Grizzlies Monday night, as they were defeated by the Sacramento Kings 132-122. With the loss, the Grizzlies drop to the fifth seed in the Western Conference standings.
The Grizzlies battled hard, and despite a breakout night from Desmond Bane, they were not able to overcome their poor defense and the Kings’ three-point shooting.
No point guard? That’s a problem, or it was Monday night. All three of the Grizzlies’ point guards were either injured or unavailable – Ja Morant and Scotty Pippen Jr. were both sidelined with injuries. Yuki Kawamura was on assignment with the Memphis Hustle.
Backup big man Santi Aldama was also on the injured list for the fifth game in a row. He is currently recovering from a right calf strain.
As mentioned, Desmond Bane had a breakout game, delivering a new season-high of 44 points and shooting a perfect 7 of 7 from beyond the arc. Bane tried to put the team on his back in the second half, to no avail.
Sacramento dominated throughout the game, and aside from a two-point lead in the first quarter, the Grizzlies trailed the rest of the way.
The Kings lost all-star Domantas Sabonis for the night after rolling an ankle in the third quarter, but they got a firepower boost from a familiar face: former Grizzly Jake LaRavia, who led Sacramento’s second unit to the tune of 12 points and a couple of well-timed three-point makes.
The elephant in the room is once again that the Grizzlies committed double-digit turnovers — they gave up 21 points off 18 turnovers. Even though the Kings gave up a similar amount (20 points off 14 turnovers), the Grizzlies giving up 21 points in turnovers in a game they lost by 10 points is, to put it mildly, less than ideal.
With only 13 games remaining in the season, this Memphis team is running out of time to right the ship, and turnovers may well cost them in the postseason.
By The Numbers:
Desmond Bane led all scorers and set a new season-high with 44 points on 15 of 25 overall shooting and 7 of 7 from beyond the arc. He added 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal.
Jaylen Wells scored 14 points on 4 of 11 overall shooting and 3 of 8 from three, to go along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.
Jaren Jackson Jr. put up 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.
Zach Edey added 12 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 blocks.
Brandon Clarke led the second unit with 15 points, and had 8 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies’ west coast road trip continues. Wednesday night, they will be in Portland to face the Trailblazers. Tip-off is at 9 PM CDT.
