Author: Sharon Brown

Sharon Brown is a University of Memphis graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Professional Studies with a concentration in Legal Studies. Born and raised in the Mississippi Delta, Sharon is one of the Memphis Grizzlies beat writers for the Memphis Flyer. She has created a niche in the industry by co-founding All Heart in Hoop City — a unique community of women sportswriters.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Cold Night for the Grizzlies: Denver 131-Memphis 114.

CREDIT: Sharon Brown

Sharon Brown

The Shirelles’ top-ten hit, told us, “Mama said there’d be days like this,” and it was true for the young Grizzlies on Sunday night before the home crowd.

The Denver Nuggets ended Memphis’ three-game win streak in a decisive fashion, 131-114. Before the blowout loss, the Grizzlies had won four of their last six outings.

After three exciting wins — ruining Tony Parker’s retirement ceremony by downing the Spurs; last-minute heroics by Ja Morant in Charlotte; wrecking Mike Conley’s homecoming by defeating the Utah Jazz — the Grizzlies just went cold. 

Cold Night for the Grizzlies: Denver 131-Memphis 114.

And that about sums it up for the home team. Jamal Murray put on a show and the Grizzlies paid for it dearly. Murray had a bad game against the Brooklyn Nets on November 14th. In that game, he only scored four points, going 1-of-11 from the field.

It was different story Sunday night, as Murray got the first nine points for Denver. Murray ended with 39 points (season-high), four rebounds, and eight assists in 31 minutes of play with zero turnovers. Murray had the “it factor” and the Grizzlies had no answer for him.
The only person who stopped Murray was Denver Coach Mike Malone, who set him down for the entire fourth quarter. 

Notes

The Nuggets went on a 34–6 run (including a 24–2 run) to turn an eight-point deficit (36–28) early in the second quarter into a 20-point lead (62–42) with 2:48 left before halftime.
Denver outscored the Grizzlies in the second quarter 44-17. The game got out of hand in the third period, when Denver got up by as many as 33 points.  

Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 22 points and five rebounds, setting a career-high by going 5-of-7 from three-point range.

Brandon Clarke had a perfect night from the field, going 8-of-8, ending up with 19 points. Prior to the Nuggets game, Clarke ranked first among all NBA rookies at 61.5 percent shooting on the year.

Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points (including 12 in the first quarter) and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes for his eighth double-double of the season and 12th straight game in double-figure scoring. 

Paul Millsap put together a season-high-tying 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting (.727) and registered a season-high in steals, with five.

What They Said
Head coach Taylor Jenkins

On the game:

“Tough one for us today. We didn’t start the way that we needed to. Down 7–0, we got a bucket but our energy to start wasn’t quite there. But, credit to our guys. We kind of flipped the script after that first timeout and we ended up taking an 11-point lead. But, tons of credit to the Nuggets. They raised their level to an elite level, and our guys just couldn’t really catch that second gear. It just wasn’t our day today. So, a lot of credit to the Nuggets, especially in that second quarter. We tried to claw back here and there, but that second quarter kind of got away from us. And as we’ve experienced throughout the year so far when these moments happen, how can we just kind of face some of that adversity. But, credit the Nuggets. That’s a heck of a team and a great learning opportunity for our young team.”

On De’Anthony Melton:

“Tons of credit goes to De’Anthony. We’ve talked about him constantly staying prepared with his individual work, his G League assignments. I’m super happy with where he’s at. He made an impact immediately, kind of coming in defensively and getting his hands on a couple of balls, shooting with confidence, making plays for his teammates, had a great pass to Brandon Clarke for a roll dunk. So, I’m really impressed with him and he’s definitely going to be someone who will make an impact for our team at some point.”


On whether he thinks Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. are where they need to be defensively:

“Not just them, but everyone, we’ve got a long way to go. I mean, the nights where we’re giving up 130 points, that’s not the scenario that we want to set. We talked all along how they can be impactful on both ends of the floor. I think Ja has been taking some big strides the last week or so, but tonight was a tough match. Jamal Murray is a heck of a player. But, trying to unleash their activity, (Jaren) blocking shots and rebounding, he’s starting to find his comfort and all that stuff. Tonight was not indicative of what they can be defensively, but I think all of us as a team have big steps that we have to take on that end.”

The Infie 500

Cold Night for the Grizzlies: Denver 131-Memphis 114. (2)

Up Next

The Grizzlies will host the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. Tip-off at 7 pm CST.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Ja Morant, the Hero Memphis Needed

Rookie Ja Morant scored a game-winning bucket after splitting three defenders with a left-handed drive to the rim with 0.7 seconds left on the clock to lift the Grizzlies over the Hornets on Wednesday night, 119–117. Not all heroes wear capes, but he does wear number 12.

Ja Morant, the Hero Memphis Needed

Ja Morant, the Hero Memphis Needed (2)

After being down by as many as 12 in the third period, the young Grizzlies went on a 22–5 run to get back in the game. In the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies saw their 10 point lead evaporate as Charlotte bounced back to tie the game 117-117 with 24.3 seconds left to play.

It took a balanced effort for Memphis to pull off its second straight victory on the road and its first back-to-back wins of the season.

Memphis connected on a season-high 17 three-point shots on 35 attempts (48.6 percent) and also shoot 53.3 percent from the field.

Morant led the way, as he recorded the first double-double of his career, finishing with 23 points and 11 assists.

Marko Guduric added 17 points while going 4-of-6 from the three-point line. Jonas Valanciunas recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds in 23 minutes.

Jaren Jackson, Jr. continues to shine after going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc while garnering 16 points and six rebounds.

Terry Rozier had a game-high 33 points (7-of-12 from deep) and six assists for the Hornets. As a reserve, Malik Monk put up 20 points with eight rebounds and five assists. 

Up Next
Mike Conley will make his return to FedExForum with his new team as the Grizzlies will host the Utah Jazz on Friday night, tip-off 7 pm CST.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Take First Road Win of the Season

CREDIT: Joe Murphy/NBAE

Joe Murphy/NBAE

Jaren Jackson Jr.

The Grizzlies gained their first road victory of the season, downing the San Antonio Spurs 113–109, Monday night. The Grizzlies’ win came after back-to-back losses against the Orlando Magic, and division rivals, the Dallas Mavericks.
 
Jaren Jackson, Jr. led the Grizzlies with 24 points (a season high), six rebounds, and five assists. Jackson has bounced back after he failed to score in the Grizzlies’ home victory over the Timberwolves last week. In the last two games, Jackson has scored 23 and 24 points, respectively.

Jackson tied his career-high by knocking down four three-pointers. Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins was pleased with his second-year forward’s performance. “He was impacting the game on both ends of the floor,” Jenkins said.  Jenkins said Jackson’s presence on the floor and not in foul trouble is a tremendous gain for the team. “Obviously, not being in foul trouble helped him produce on the offensive end, just being on the floor.”

He continued, “Defensively, just playing solid defense. Contesting shots at the rim, especially a lot of contested jumpers, you know we’ll roll with him because I think he’s been working hard over the last couple weeks. Especially this last week, just being more disciplined defensively and continuing to be active and disciplined at the same time. Then offensively, rim running, getting those deep seals. If it’s not there, then just facilitating, hitting four threes tonight, just playing within the offense. It’s a heck of a job by him and a heck of a job by our team tonight.”

Ja Morant was complimentary of his teammate’s play against the Spurs. He said, “He [Jackson] is getting comfortable. His confidence is back. You can tell he is playing with that ‘bop’, not thinking about it too much. And we just tell him to hoop, because we need it.”

After the game, Jackson admitted he was in a funk and his conversations with Jenkins had helped him. Jackson said, “We have a lot of conversations. We talk at practice every day. It wasn’t anything specific. I definitely expressed to him that I was in a funk and we just talked about it.” Jackson went on to say, “It’s not like something you just magically change. I just expressed it to him. He expressed to me, ‘You just have to keep focusing on the things that are important’ — coming in, your work habits, and working hard every day, and I agree with him.”

Notes: Dillon Brooks chipped in 21 points off of 8-of-17 from the field. Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points and 12 rebounds, along with two blocks. Brandon Clarke continued to shine, with 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench. He went 6-of-7 from the field. 

Lamarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 19 points while Rudy Gay added 18 points and eight rebounds as a reserve. 

The Grizzlies finished the game 44-of-87 from the field (50.6 percent) and 11-of-28 from beyond the arc (39.3 percent). 
Larry Kuzniewski

Jaren Jackson Jr.

Memphis finally played well in the third quarter. For the first time this season, the Grizzlies outscored an opponent in the third period, 34–26. 

Grizzlies head coach, Taylor Jenkins used his first challenge of the season. Coaches are allowed one challenge per game, this season. With 9.4 seconds left, Jackson was called for a foul on Spurs guard Derrick White as he drove towards the basket. On review, it was revealed that Jackson didn’t touch him and the call was overturned.

Up Next
The Grizzlies will travel to Charlotte to take on the Hornets on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. CT.

Categories
Beyond the Arc Sports

All About Ja

Larry Kuzniewski

Ja Morant

Sunday night belonged to the most electrifying man in Memphis, Ja Morant. The Grizzlies rookie point guard made his mark, as he went toe-to-toe with one of the league’s best players, Kyrie Irving.

With only 3.7 seconds left in OT, Morant delivered a dime to a trailing Jae Crowder, who hit a game-winning three-pointer as time expired to seal the victory before 15,517 delighted fans at the FedExForum. Memphis beat Brooklyn 134–133.

“It was a great play call by coach,” said Morant on the game winning dish to Crowder. “I’m not going to lie. At first, when I went behind the back, I was just trying to get my feet set. But then Jae called ‘Trailer!’ and I knew that both defenders were on me, so I just pitched it back and backed into the other defenders so they wouldn’t be able to contest his shot. I believed in Jae the whole way and he delivered for us tonight.”

This marked the first win of the 2019 season for the Grizzlies and the first win for rookie head coach Taylor Jenkins.
Larry Kuzniewski

Taylor Jenkins

In his third NBA game, the rookie point guard tallied 30 points (career-high), nine assists, and four rebounds in 32 minutes. The Murray State alum became only the third player in NBA history to score at least 30 points and have at least nine assists within the first three games of their career, joining Isiah Thomas (1981) and Trae Young (2018).

He had 17 points in the fourth quarter, while leading the Grizzlies back from a 118-110 deficit with 3:20 remaining. Also Morant had a key block on Irving to send the game to overtime.

Morant on the final sequence of the fourth quarter, “On that last play, coach was just telling us to stay down, and once he pump faked it, I was down and I knew the shot was coming,” Morant said. “Man, it was great. Special talent — he’s [Irving] a handful; I can say that. Definitely was putting pressure on our defense tonight.”

After the game, Morant said it felt great to get the win in front of the rousing home crowd after coming up short the first two games.

Jenkins was glad to get his first win and was very proud of his rookie. Jenkins said, “We’ve said to him daily that he’s our engine. We go as he goes. I think he’s starting to see how defenses are going to guard him. He’s got to be full throttle early on. Credit to him, the last couple of days watching film and in his individual work, working on different finishes.”

Jenkins added, “To see him finish at a pretty high level tonight, to be able to complete those attacks is huge. To be able to find his teammates in great times, getting in there and kicking out, it was great to see. That was a great Ja Morant performance. A lot of guys played great tonight. Hopefully we continue building on this moving forward.”

“Obviously, he’s a very talented player. He hit some tough shots and his quickness and speed to the rim to get downhill,” said Brooklyn Head coach Kenny Atkinson about Morant.

Irving also had high praises for Morant: “I expected him to come out aggressive, be who he is. He got downhill a few times and finished over our bigs. Didn’t really hit the outside shot tonight, which we wanted to encourage, but he did pretty great at what he is known for and that is getting in the paint and playing with a lot of passion, and I think he showed that tonight.”

Nets guard Caris LeVert said Morant made good decisions and said he thought Morant was going to be really good in the league.

Notes:
The Grizzlies converted on a season-high 14 three-pointers and shot 48.5 percent from the field.

Jonas Valanciunas recorded his second double-double of the season, tallying 16 points and 11 rebounds in just 20 minutes of play. Dillon Brooks had a strong night as he went 9-of-15 while shooting 3-of-6 from three. Brooks ended with 21 points.

Solomon Hill saw his first action in a Grizzlies uniform. Hill went a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and finished with 13 points and five rebounds.

Irving led all scorers with 37 points, seven assists and seven rebounds while shooting 11-of-27 from the floor. Caris LeVert also had a good night for the Nets as he tallied 27 points, five assists and four rebounds as the Nets fell to 1-2 on the year.

What They Said
Grizzlies forward Jae Crowder ended the night with six points, seven rebounds and five assists. All of Crowder points came in OT and including the game winner.  Larry Kuzniewski

Jae Crowder


On the win: “Obviously, just to get the win, get our first win and try to get some momentum. We’ve been playing well these first two games and we put five quarters together and came out with a win.”

On keeping an even keel in the fourth quarter:
“We just wanted to stay with the game plan and obviously we felt like we took our foot off the gas pedal the other two games and we wanted to try and finish a full game with some veteran presence down late and it helped out. We just played very scrappy on the defensive end, coming up with loose balls. They had a five out there. We had four smalls I think at one point so we’re just playing scrappy and doing whatever it takes to win the game.”

On what he tells the young players:
“We want to limit those guys to one shot where, like I said, we were playing small in the clutch so we didn’t want to give any second chance points. I think all game we were getting beat with second chance points, so there late we just wanted to limit those guys to one shot, make or miss, and get out and have a good offense on the other end and find the best shot we can get. So I think we limited those guys. I think they got a tip-in late which we tried to not give up, but we did a good job of limiting those guys to one shot.”

On the locker room celebration:
“We’re coming together. I think that’s what it’s about. It’s about coming together as a team. Coming together as one. And obviously a win always brings a team a little closer and to get that first win for coach speaks volumes for him. We’re just happy for him. Happy for our rooks, they played a great game and we’re just trying to get a win and get some momentum here early in the season.”

On Ja Morant:
“He stepped up especially in that to force overtime. That defensive stop that he had on Kyrie [Irving], stayed down on the pump fake, contested it, got a piece of the ball. That was big. That was probably my highlight for him of the game along with the points. He did a good job of scoring and facilitating but that defensive stop to push it to overtime was huge.”

Up Next
The Grizzlies head out to take on Anthony Davis, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, with a 9:30 p.m. start, Central time.