Tuesday night your Memphis Grizzlies faced off against the Golden State Warriors and came away with another game in this historic winning streak. The 116-108 score means the Grizzlies have now won 10 games in a row.
Let’s get into it.
The buzz around the league right now has centered largely on the return of Klay Thompson for the first time since the 2019 NBA Finals. Thompson, Golden State’s shooting guard extraordinaire, is one-half of the Splash Brothers alongside Stephen Curry. Giving credit where credit is due, the aforementioned players are very good, as are the Warriors as a whole.
But I dare say that right now, this Grizzlies team is better.
Both teams were missing some key rotation players, but it was a fair matchup, and this victory was hard-fought. Draymond Green was sidelined for Tuesday’s game, and Dillon Brooks will be off the court for at least the next four to five weeks. The Grizzlies’ starting center Steven Adams remains in the league’s health and safety protocol for the third game in a row. Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins also remains in the league’s health and safety protocols, leaving assistant coach Darko Rajaković at the helm.
By the Numbers:
Before we get into individual performances, there are a few stand-out team stats that deserve some attention.
The Grizzlies converted 17 Golden State turnovers into 26 points. They finished with 22 more field goal attempts, shot better from beyond the arc (14-34 vs 13-36), and beat the Warriors in rebounding (49-45), assists (30-25), steals (11-8), and blocks (8-5).
They held Andre Iguodala to zero points in 21 minutes of playing time.
Fun fact: Every single time that Iguodala got the ball in his hands or did anything in the game at all, the fans in the Grindhouse booed him. After the unnecessary debacle that Iguodala created surrounding being traded to Memphis during the 2019 offseason, I hope this becomes as much of a staple of the in-game experience as “Whoop That Trick” and trash-talking Blake Griffin.
Grizz Nation has a long memory and pettiness that is unrivaled.
Now, onto the gang.
Ja Morant led all scorers with 29 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and two blocks.
Ziaire Williams scored a career-high 17 points and contributed to a couple of highlight plays.
Tyus Jones dropped 17 points off the bench, including shooting 5 for 5 from beyond the three-point line.
Brandon Clarke closed out with 14 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks and contributed to some highlights of his own.
Jaren Jackson Jr. Notched a double-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks.
Desmond Bane finished with 11 points, three rebounds, and four assists.
Kyle Anderson made his presence felt on both ends of the floor once again, ending with eight points, four rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies will play back-to-back games at home Thursday and Friday nights, facing off against the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks, respectively. They will close out this four-game home stand with the annual MLK Day game on Monday, January 17th, against the Chicago Bulls.
