Thursday night, the Memphis Grizzlies snapped a four-game losing streak with a 110-108 victory over the Miami Heat.
Itwas the Grizzlies’ first win since longtime head coach Taylor Jenkins was fired and replaced in the interim by lead assistant Tuomas Iisalo.
This might be one of the most important wins of the season for this Grizzlies team, which has been in a tailspin for the past few weeks. After spending most of the season in second place in the Western Conference, Memphis is now trying to avoid falling past the sixth seed and the play-in tournament.
This brings us to Thursday night’s game in Miami. The game started out with Heat big man, Bam Adebayo, torching the Grizzlies for 12 points in the first period, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
Memphis was able to cut Miami’s nine-point lead to one by midway but did themselves no favors by giving up 10 points off 12 turnovers in the first half. It was not a great matchup for Jaren Jackson Jr., as evidenced by his game-high five fouls and five turnovers.
The second half was a back-and-forth battle that saw Memphis barely snaring out a win, thanks to a pullup at the buzzer by Ja Morant.
But there is an elephant in the room: the ongoing controversy regarding what the league calls a “finger-gun” gesture made between Ja Morant and Golden State guard Buddy Hield during Tuesday’s game against the Warriors.
The league issued a warning yesterday afternoon to Morant and Hield regarding the gesture: It was determined “not intended to be violent in nature” but still inappropriate. It was a warning Morant opted not to heed.
Now the league is issuing a $75,000 fine to Morant after he made the same gesture during last night’s game.
Hopefully, he will heed that warning going forward because the Grizzlies desperately need him on the court.
By The Numbers:
Morant led the team in scoring with 30 points on 11 of 22 overall shooting and 3 of 7 from beyond the arc. He added 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.
Desmond Bane finished with 17 points on 6 of 23 overall shooting and 1 of 9 from three-point range, plus 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal.
Jaylen Wells added 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 13 points, and added 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.
Scotty Pippen Jr. led the bench with 17 points on 6 of 9 overall shooting and 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, plus 1 rebound, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies will be in Detroit Saturday night to take on the Pistons. Tip-off is at 6 PM CDT.
