In their second wire-to-wire victory of the season, and the first one at home, the Memphis Grizzlies snapped their five-game home court losing streak. With a final score of 109-97, the Grizzlies broke the Washington Wizards’ two-game winning streak on the back of a career-high scoring game from Trey Jemison.
Let’s get into it.
Tuesday night saw the return of Tyus Jones to FedExForum for the first time since he was traded to the Wizards last summer. The Grizzlies organization put together a lovely tribute video to Jones, who spent four seasons in Memphis.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well from three-point range. Washington ended the night shooting 30.6%, and Memphis shot 24.2% from beyond the arc.
Poor ball security didn’t hurt the Grizzlies this game, even while allowing Washington to convert 18 turnovers into 23 points. This might be a function of the Wizards being that bad. Washington is one of the few teams struggling harder than Memphis this season.
But the Grizzlies dominated the Wizards in second-chance points (23-2) and paint points (66-50). Their 66 points in the paint tied the team’s season high.
Memphis is missing one of the most prolific paint scorers in the league in Ja Morant, which was borne out by the Grizzlies having led the league in points in the paint since Morant’s rookie season. This season, without Morant, Memphis is now last in the league.
The hodge-podge of two-way players and 10-day contract guys that made up most of the playing roster for the Grizzlies Tuesday night was able to get it done. The 25-point lead they held at the half was tied for the largest lead at any point in a game this season.
Trey Jemison led Memphis with a career-high 24 points, and added 6 rebounds and 2 blocks while shooting 11 of 13.
Luke Kennard added 13 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 3 of 6 from three-point range and 5 of 11 overall.
Santi Aldama put up 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals.
From the second unit:
GG Jackson led the bench with 19 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block.
Jake LaRavia added 16 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies are back at it again tonight, on the home court. They face off against the Charlotte Hornets tonight. Tip-off is at 7 PM CDT.
