Down by as many as 15 at one point, the Memphis Grizzlies powered through in the second half on the shoulders of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Luke Kennard to come away with a win against the Detroit Pistons.
This wounded Grizzlies team has been limping toward the end of the season, patched together with two-way players and 10-day contracts. Despite those handicaps, they managed to come away from Monday night’s matchup with a win. Never mind that Detroit holds the worst record in the league, a win is a win, especially during a season where wins have been hard to come by for Memphis.
A tale of two halves.
Memphis struggled mightily in the first half, with the Pistons taking a 13-point lead into the second half.
I’m not sure what head coach Taylor Jenkins said to the team during halftime, but whatever it was, it lit a fire under them, because they stormed took over the third quarter to the tune of 41 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. played all 12 minutes and put up 21 of his 40 points in the third on six of seven shooting overall, and one of one from beyond the arc.
We saw Brandon Clarke looking very much like his old self in his third game back after spending a year rehabbing an Achilles injury, particularly in the fourth quarter, where he racked up seven of his 15 points, including a rare for Clarke three-point attempt and make. (For reference, Clarke only had six three-point attempts in 58 games last season.)
Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey led the Pistons in scoring, with 36 and 20 points, respectively. Ivey, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2022 draft, is the son of Niele Ivey, the current head coach of the women’s basketball team at Notre Dame and a former assistant coach for the Grizzlies.
Detroit also got a 10-point contribution from small forward Tosan Evbuomwan. Evbuomwan, currently on a two-way contract with the Piston’s G-League affiliate the Motor City Cruise, previously signed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies on January 30th, 2024, and played four games for Memphis in early February.
By The Numbers:
Jaren Jackson Jr. led all scorers with 40 points, and added seven rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks while shooting 13 of 23 overall and two of three from three-point range.
Luke Kennard added 19 points, three rebounds, and eight assists while shooting seven of 14 overall and five of 11 from three-point range.
GG Jackson put up 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists on four of nine overall shooting.
From the second unit – Clarke finished the night with a season-high 15 points, seven rebounds, one steal, and two blocks.
Jake LaRavia added 12 points, four rebounds, and two assists while shooting two of four from beyond the arc.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies are on the road for one more game, heading to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks on Wednesday, April 3rd. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. CDT.
