It was Dillon Brooks’ first appearance on the court after being sidelined with an ankle injury against the Los Angeles Clippers on January 8th.
After a brief delay, the Thunder and Grizzlies’ final matchup of the season got underway. It was immediately apparent that both teams wore white uniforms when the players removed their warmups after the lineups were announced. To get things back on track, Memphis went back to their locker room to change and returned to the court wearing blue uniforms. The ultimate wardrobe malfunction.
In his first game back, Brooks finished with 15 points, four assists, two rebounds, and a steal.
Taylor Jenkins had high praise for Brooks after the game. “Just really impressed with DB [Dillon Brooks],” Jenkins said. “His first game back, I thought he settled in great, just played really good basketball on both sides of the floor [and] exerted a lot of his force and energy out there. He never backs down, he plays super aggressive. I think as the game went on to start finding really nice rhythm out there and really good playmaking.”
Jenkins added, “The first half, he had four assists and got his spots on the floor shot with confidence. Just that level of physicality is something we’re excited to have back with us.”
Brooks was pleased to finally be back on the floor with his teammates. After the game Brooks said, “Coach [Jenkins] tried to tell me, share the basketball, get your teammates involved — be aggressive and humble at same time. And that’s what I try to do. I try to drive and make the defense collapse and get my teammates the ball in the right spots and pick and choose where I can you drive and be aggressive. It was a great game and I love [that] my teammates kept trying to give me the ball and make plays, so it was a great win.”
Jaren Jackson Jr. shared his thoughts on Brooks’ return. He said, “He left the game as one of the, if not the best wing defenders in the game — so you know what he can do. He takes on that challenge every night. So just adding a piece like that always helps take pride in our defense. DB, man, back in this thing, being who he is. That’s all I told him to do, man, ‘Do you, bruh.’ Ain’t no advice. ‘Do you; you know what to do.’”
Jackson ended the game with 18 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a block in 29 minutes to help lift the Grizzlies to 47-22 on the season.
To round it out, Memphis had seven players in double figures including Brooks and Jackson Jr. Desmond Bane led the way for the Grizzlies with 21 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Ja Morant ended with a double-double, 17 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds. Tyus Jones and Brandon Clarke had 12 points apiece, while Ziaire Williams had 11 as Memphis’ bench squad outscored the Thunder second unit, 45-28.
Who Got Next
The Grizzlies take on the Pacers on Tuesday night for the first time this season in Indiana and look to extend their winning streak to four games.
