On the second night of a back-to-back, the Memphis Grizzlies were back at home against their most hated rival, the Golden State Warriors.
The Grizzlies controlled the game in the first half, but Golden State came roaring back and put up 41 points in the third quarter to cut the lead to single digits. However, Memphis held the Warriors to 19 points on 7-of-21 shooting (1-8 3P) in the fourth period, and scored 29 points of their own to beat the Warriors 133-119.
The Grizzlies have won five of their last six games, and have a best-in-the-NBA home winning percentage (.853) after improving to 29-5 at FedExForum this season. Memphis also tied its season high with its eighth consecutive home victory.
With their eleventh consecutive road loss, Golden State dropped back to 7-29 on the road this season. The Warriors have not won a road game since January 27th.
The Block Panther Game
Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies, tying his season high with 31 points by going 12-of-22 from the field, with seven boards, four blocks, and three assists.
Jackson Jr. has scored 25+ points in three consecutive games, the longest such streak of his career.
“My teammates are requiring a lot out of me offensively” Jackson, Jr. said on balancing offensive assertiveness and efficiency. “They want me to view the mismatches and find different opportunities for me to score, especially when I have someone smaller than me, but even when I have somebody slower. I have to do both.”
Jackson, Jr. went on to say, “So, when I’m getting that many attempts, especially in the right spots, it’s really just about the spots I’m getting. If I can get in a better spot, higher chances of going in rather than trying to force it when doubles come, trying to find guys to review the double team rather than just go head-to-head without looking. You know, it all helps.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said, “I thought Jaren [Jackson Jr.] played a great game tonight. I thought he was aggressive, he was scoring in the lane, knocked down a few threes as well, but he had it going tonight for sure.”
Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins spoke about Jackson Jr’s improved offensive game. “It’s been a huge growth area for him, for us as a team, for me,” Jenkins said. “It’s all the above. It’s the work he’s been putting in when it comes to post-ISO situations, the reads he’s making off of drives, whether that’s on a go-and-catch, coming off a pick-and-roll situation.”
“I think what it really comes down to is finding the times to assert himself when it’s in the flow of offense and when we make a call for you, Jenkins added. “He’s finding a lot of success. He’s making angles, he’s making efficient moves to get to the rim. Tonight, a great example of kick-outs and dump-offs for three assists.”
Jenkins concluded, “Huge growth area for him. Just being efficient, as you said, but it’s just within the flow of the offense and when we make play calls for him. Just allowing him to be the decision maker. We know what he does defensively, but when he can give you that production inside out, from the free throw line, some playmaking on top of that, that’s huge for us.”
Jackson Jr. knows he’s a walking mismatch every game. “I feel like that every night, but you have to control it,” said the 23-year-old. “You have to do it in the right form, and if you if you just think like that and you just start jacking it, it just doesn’t look as good. I feel like that, but I’m really just reading how the games go.”
The All-Defensive forward has what it takes to be elite both offensively and defensively, but he has to have balance. “You just got to have the legs to be able to do both,” the All-Star big man said after the game. “So a lot of endurance is needed for that kind of activity. I’m not just doing one thing. So, it’s just about getting enough rest and having your legs. That helps because I know I have enough strength to get it done.”
The Dillon Brooks Effect
Stephen Curry was limited to 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting, snapping a 17-game streak of scoring 20+ points. Curry was too not thrilled about being asked about his matchup against Brooks. Curry said, “We played the whole Memphis Grizzlies, not just him. That’s my thoughts.”
After the game, Brooks spoke about his plan for guarding Curry. He said, “Just being obsessed about him. Just watching film. Just understanding his whole game, the whole game plan. I love playing against him. He’s a competitor. I don’t think he likes the way I operate, but it’s working, so he’s going to have to figure out how to score on me. But, like I told everybody else, with a guy like him, he’s been doing it for so many years, seen so many defenses, so many coverages that you got to finally do something different. His desire to be the greatest shooter in the NBA, on this Earth, is the same desire that I want to guard him every single night.”
Jenkins had one word to describe Brooks after the game. “Spirited,”said Jenkins. “He’s got great spirit. He’s got great energy. I always say he’s an ultimate competitor. He embodies so many things you want out of a basketball player every single night, just how he lays it on the line. He leads by example, leads on the floor, leads off the floor with his voice. I could probably elaborate more, but you said, ‘How would I describe it?’ I can give you the one word: it’s very spirited.”
Jenkins also said he believes Brooks should be on the NBA All-Defensive team this season. He said, “The numbers don’t lie. The film doesn’t lie, so I think it’s a no-brainer that he should be an All-Defensive player.”
“This is elite level intensity, and he’s a master at it honestly,” Jackson, Jr. said of Brooks’ intensity. “Being able to have that level of intensity and still being able to lock in and have a calm approach to still get stuff done. You can’t just be erratic all the time, so there is a method to his madness for sure.”
Brooks added 18 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the field and 4-of-4 from 3-point range.
The Grizzlies need this version of Brooks going forward.
Up Next
The second game of a four-game homestand continues when the Dallas Mavericks come to town on Monday night with possibly both Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic available.
