On a rainy Wednesday night in Memphis, the Grizzlies matched up against the Oklahoma City Thunder and came away with their fourth consecutive win, and snapped a three-game winning streak for OKC.
Let’s get into it.
Breaking open a fairly close game, the Grizzlies opened the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run, pushed their lead to double digits, and never let the Thunder get back in the game. Memphis held Oklahoma City to just 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Fun fact: Memphis is undefeated this season when leading by 10+ points at any point in the game and remained the NBA’s only undefeated team when holding a double-digit advantage in a game.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is arguably the best player on the Thunder’s roster, and yet Memphis defenders were still able to hold him below his season average. Gilgeous-Alexander finished the night with 26 points, 17 of them coming from the foul line.
Ja Morant notched his sixth career triple-double, and with it became the franchise leader in triple-doubles, surpassing Marc Gasol who had five.
Morant had this to say postgame, when asked about setting a new franchise record: “An honor, big time. I know a lot of great players have been in this organization, and for me to be the franchise-record holder for triple-doubles, it’s crazy. I feel like it’s something you got to earn, but I feel like my teammates are right up there with me, with history. Obviously, it’s my name, but without those guys, it wouldn’t have been possible. I wouldn’t have the assists, wouldn’t have been able to have the points without them out there on the floor; they open up so much for me on the floor. It also helps them as well and being able to knock down shots is big time.”
Ziaire Williams played for the first time this season, after sitting out due to right knee soreness. He only added four points to the board but that should improve as he finds his shot again. In any case, it was good to see Williams running the court and looking healthy.
Dillon Brooks is quickly becoming one of the best two-way players in the league. You always love what he gives you on defense, and even more so when he gets into a shooting groove as he did against OKC. Brooks has made 5 three-pointers in two of his last three games.
By The Numbers:
Ja Morant led the team with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists, racking up his sixth career triple-double.
Brooks posted 24 points including shooting 5 of 12 from beyond the arc.
Brandon Clarke had a season-high 17 points and 8 rebounds off the bench with 8 of 10 field goal shooting.
Jaren Jackson Jr finished with 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 5 blocks.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies will play the third game of this five-game homestand Friday night against the Detroit Pistons. Tip-off is at 7 PM CST.
