In a 118-108 victory over the Sacramento Kings on New Year’s Day at FedExForum, the Memphis Grizzlies extended their winning streak to three games. This victory came on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Grizzlies improved to 15-3 at home and marked the first time in team history that a game had been played on New Year’s Day in Memphis.
With the win, Memphis raised their record to 23-13 that has them in a tie for second place in the West with the New Orleans Pelicans, and one game behind the first place Denver Nuggets.
As Kool Moe Dee said, “The Wild, Wild West.”
Ja Doing Ja Things
There were plenty of Ja-dropping plays on Sunday for Ja Morant, who led all scorers with a game-high 35 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
“It’s gotta be a mindset – you got to want it,” Morant said after the game. You just have to come out and be ready to play from top to bottom. It has to be everybody.”
“That’s our message right now to each other as a team,” Morant added. “We got to come out and play, no matter if we play a Western Conference or Eastern Conference team, or if we play on a team who is down main guys. We got to still come out and play and go out and make a statement and win the basketball game.”
Stones
Tyus Jones was a man on a mission on Sunday night against the Kings. Jones has been struggling as of late, but he started the new year off with 18 points, eight assists, and six rebounds off the bench. Stones tied his career high with 3-pointers made by going 5-of-7 from the long line.
Take a look at a point guard to point guard connection between Jones and Morant.
Morant talked about his synergy with Jones:
After the game, Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins had high praise for Jones. Jenkins said, “No matter what his role is: Come off the bench, be a starter, play with different lineups, play longer stretches, shorter stretches – when he has an aggressive mentality, it’s usually good for Tyus.”
King of Rebounds
Steven Adams had a really productive night for his team.
Career-high with 13 offensive rebounds ☑
Career-high tying 23 total rebounds ☑
First player in franchise history with consecutive 20+ rebound games ☑
Tied franchise record for rebounds in any two-game span (44) ☑
“I mean, it’s just part of our job as the bigs,” said Adams on his contributions to help his team win in the trenches. “It’s just part of our coverage. We enjoy just getting a stop, so we don’t have to play any more defense. That’s the main thing. The less defense we could play, the better.”
Adams continued, “That’s why we try and emphasize the defensive rebounding, that’s why it is such a demoralizing thing if you give out offensive rebounds, then you have a 14-second shot clock while you have to play defensive again. So, just trying to be active. I think I’m more comfortable in the system, getting more calm. Last year was a bit of a learning curve on how players move and if they were in front or not; it’s kind of weird reads on the body language, but I’m getting used to just reading the players a bit better when they need help and when not to.”
The Block Panther
Jaren Jackson, Jr. finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks. Jackson had two blocks on the same possession against the Kings’ Malik Monk. He also had six blocked shots on New Year’s Eve against the Pelicans. The All-Defensive First Team big man is making his case as one of the best rim protectors in the game. Ask Malik Monk; he didn’t dare to try to get a bucket again with The Block Panther lurking at the rim. In 20 games, Jackson Jr. is averaging 3.2 blocks.
A Special Gift
A young fan, Zander Carr, was gifted with a pair of Morant’s signature shoes, Ja 1, after the game.
“I can tell – I actually saw him during warm up, so I could tell how big of a fan he was,” said Morant on giving the fan his shoes after the game. He was screaming my name, cheering for me making shots from warmup. So, I knew he was a big fan, and I’m actually doing this thing where I give a pair of my shoes out.”
Morant went on to say, “Obviously, I know a lot of people want them right now, and it’s not released yet in stores and online. I read the sign and, from then on, I knew who was getting a pair of shoes, and you can tell how much he wanted it and loved it.”
Morant has a campaign going with the hashtag #Jas12DaysOfChristmas where 12 fans will be selected to receive a pair of Ja 1s on January 12th.
“It’s a great thing to see,” Morant added. “Leaves you speechless when you see somebody is that big a fan of you to burst out and cry, and then there, it was even more crazy to notice his mom crying as well. I know that touched both of their hearts, and that’s something that I’ll never forget.”
Yes, Zander and his mom will never forget the gift and kindness of Morant for his birthday.
Up Next
The Grizzlies look to extend their winning streak against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday in Charlotte. Tip-off: 6 pm CT.
