The Memphis Grizzlies successfully defended their home court Tuesday night against the Denver Nuggets, coming away with a 104-96 victory and securing their first wire-to-wire win of the season. And defend it they did, holding Denver to a rare sub-100-point game.
Larry Kuzniewski
Dillon Brooks, Taylor Jenkins
There were a lot of things to be excited about from this game if you’re a Grizzlies fan.
Winning is always great, but some of the things they did to secure the win were spectacular to watch. Jaren Jackson Jr. finishing the night with only one personal foul feels like a victory in its own right. As does Memphis scoring 20 points off of 19 Denver turnovers.
By The Numbers:
Dillon Brooks – 24 points, 3 assists
Jonas Valanciunas – 23 points, 12 rebounds
Ja Morant – 14 points, 7 assists, 4 steals
Jaren Jackson Jr. – 10 points, 7 bocks
Brandon Clarke – 12 points, 6 rebounds
We Go Hard in the Paint
The Grizzlies outscored the Nuggets 76-22 in the paint. Yes, you read that correctly —SEVENTY-SIX PAINT POINTS. On a night when making outside shots is a struggle, the ability to score in the paint is especially valuable — a lesson the young Grizzlies appear to have learned.
Per Grizzlies PR: “This is the second-highest paint scoring total in franchise history behind the record of 78 set on Feb. 26, 2011 vs. Sacramento. This is the third time this month that Memphis, the most-prolific paint-scoring team in the NBA this season, has scored at least 70 points in the paint.”
We Get By With a Little Help From Our Friends
32 assists on 46 made field goals? Yes, please! This was yet another game in which the Grizzlies had 30 or more assists, bringing that total to 18 games so far this season. Memphis also currently leads the league in assists per game.
Jaren Jackson Jr. Would Like to Invite You to the Block Party
While tying his career-high of 7 blocks, Jackson Jr. also extended his career-best streak of games with multiple threes made and multiple blocks to five games.
🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫
supreme rim protector.
6 blocks for @jarenjacksonjr tonight. #GrzNxtGen pic.twitter.com/P6VAEGGyYV
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) January 29, 2020
Grizzlies Smoke Nuggets in First Wire-to-Wire Win of the Season
Free At Last, Maybe?
With Grayson Allen, Bruno Caboclo, and Jae Crowder all sidelined due to injuries, Coach Jenkins has had to get a bit more creative with lineups. He’s also called up two-way players Yuta Watanabe and John Konchar, as well as swingman Josh Jackson.
John Konchar scored his first NBA points during 12 minutes of playing time. Both Yuta Watanabe and Josh Jackson were listed as DNP-Coach’s Decision.
Time will tell if the calls to #FreeJoshJackson have actually been heeded for real.
Jackson has spent the entirety of the season to date playing with the Grizzlies G-league affiliate, the Memphis Hustle.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies are headed to “The World’s Most Famous Arena” to face off against the New York Knicks on the second game of a back-to-back. Tip-off is at 6:30 PM CST, and a win against the Knicks would put the Grizzlies at .500 for the season.
