On Wednesday night, the Grizzlies’ star guard was sidelined for the second straight game with knee soreness as Memphis took on the Nets. Still, the Grizzlies showed they are a complete team with the next man up mentality.
Ja Morant is by far the best player on the team, but his teammates are solid players as well. Their skill was on full display in front of a packed FedExForum — and a national TV audience on ESPN. The Grizzlies beat the Nets 132-120.
Nets head coach Steve Nash had some interesting and telling words after the game about the Grizzlies ability to win without Ja Morant. He said, “Talent — they have a talented, balanced roster. Our roster is built on three stars. When they’re out it makes it very difficult and puts a big strain on guys to play roles that they haven’t played before.”
Kevin Durant also spoke about Memphis’ ability to win without Morant. “I mean look down the line, they got solid players all the way down the line, just good players, you know. De’Anthony Melton came in and changed the game. I think that’s what won them the game. I think our starting five, pretty much match them. You know, then you know you got guys off the bench that came in and play well, so they got a deep team. They got a lot of athletic guys and they run fast, and he played [with] a lot of confidence.”
Durant continued, “I think one through 10 in their rotation are just solid players. You know Ja [Morant] is the superstar on this team, but they got guys that can start with pretty much a lot of teams in the league. Their front office did a great job putting this team together.”
De’Anthony Melton led the charge off the bench with a season-high 23 points, including a career-high six 3-pointers.
The Memphis bench outscored the Nets reserves 52-11.
“We are nothing to play with — one man goes down, two men go down — we are so deep you know we have a lot of depth in our team,” said Melton after the statement win before a national TV audience. “We have a lot of guys that work on their game and want to win from the top to the bottom no matter what. So, we understand what we need to do to go out there and get the victory. We’re going to do that no matter what. Each guy understands that and is willing to put their body on the line for it.”
In Morant’s absence, Melton had his own highlight dunk that surely will be featured on SportsCenter.
Dillon Brooks also has a special message about the Grizzlies. “We still got the grit — we still got the grind,” Brooks proclaimed. “I feel like we just got a lot of swagger to us. It doesn’t matter who it is on the floor. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing against. We just have that different type of swagger. It shouldn’t matter if we’re playing Brooklyn or if we’re playing Atlanta. We have to figure out how to keep this same energy, the same grit, the same attention to detail so we can finish out the season and go into the playoffs with some momentum.” Brooks ended the night with 21 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Desmond Bane had 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc, including 3 three-pointers in the game’s final frame to help give Memphis a 132-120 victory over the Nets as “Whoop That Trick” blasted loudly on ESPN.
Bane also made Grizzlies history on the night.
Mike Miller also was in attendance to see Bane break his franchise 3-point record.
Bane spoke to ESPN’s Malika Andrews in the walk-off interview.
Bane walked to the interview podium with the game ball tucked in his hand. “It’s a huge accomplishment — I’m super thankful,” Bane said about breaking the franchise record. “I have to thank my teammates, first and foremost. And Coach Jenkins, for giving us all the confidence to be aggressive and continue to let it fly, make or miss. We got a great team, something special going on. We always share the ball and the ball happens to find me in the right place. And the rest is history.”
The TCU alum said he will have Mike Miller sign the game ball, and he will sign it himself, date it, and then put it up. Bane also revealed that he and Miller had a good relationship.
“We’re not sneaking up on nobody anymore. The Grizzlies got that respect. I mean, it started kind of this morning and yesterday with All Access [ESPN] and stuff like that.”
ESPN crews had been in Memphis the last couple of days to bring national attention to the Grizzlies. Personalities including Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, Jalen Rose, Kendrick Perkins, and more were in the Bluff City.
“The national networks are starting to take notice and pick up on our team and a great season we’re having,” Bane added. “To beat a team like Brooklyn, who’s building, trying to contend for it all. We’re shorthanded without Ja; it says a lot about our team and what we’re capable of.”
Stingy defense by Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke kept Brooklyn at just 16 points in the fourth quarter and ensured a decisive victory. Jackson Jr. ended with 13 points, five rebounds, and four blocks while Clarke finished with a double-double, 14 points, and 10 rebounds off the bench.
“That’s one of our best big combinations and we didn’t know what they were going to do lineup-wise,” Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said of the two defensive studs. “Start off the fourth quarter, which we normally start our force with [Brandon Clarke] and [Jaren Jackson Jr.], those guys. You just see the activity they play with. We started switching actions more, pick-and-rolls, putting bigs onto [Kyrie] Irving.”
Jenkins added, “Great one-on-one defense, and then when they were getting inside to the paint, we were just swarming them and blocking shots or rebounds. And then, when those guys just play with great guard play the way that they run the floor, [Clarke] the threat in the paint and at the rim, and then [Jackson Jr.] from the 3-point line, it’s just great balance.”
“They really set the tone with their defense because they’re very versatile,” Jenkins continued. “As I said, they were able to switch onto two of the most elite playmakers in the league and really hold it down.”
With the win, the Grizzlies improved to 50-23 on the season.
Melton was thankful for getting 50 for the first time ever. “I won 19 games my rookie year out of 82, which is crazy,” said Melton. “I mean from the jump, from the time I got here, I mean, I noticed the team — you know going uphill, upstream right now, and I feel like everybody has gotten better and everybody keeps getting better. I think that’s the motto in Memphis. Everybody has adapted to that and understands that.”
Who Got Next
The Grizzlies look to improve to 51 wins as they will host the Indiana Pacers tonight at 7 p.m.
