Tag: Ja Morant

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Shade Suns in Phoenix

CREDIT: Screen shot

A resilient Grizzlies team went into Phoenix on Wednesday night and came away with its second consecutive road victory, beating the Suns 115-108. The team hadn’t won consecutive games in almost a month. 

Screen shot

Ja Morant posterizes Aron Baynes. (see video below)

Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson, Jr. led the Grizzlies, who ended a 10-day road trip with the win. The Grizzlies (8-16) are now three games behind the Suns (11-13) for the eight spot in the Western Conference.

Brooks went 10-of-18 from the stripe, finishing with a game-high 27 points, plus two steals. Memphis is 6-0 this season when Brooks scores 20 or more points.

After the game, Brooks said, “We were taking it personally. They beat us at our house and we wanted to beat them in their crib and we were just guarding our ass off. We made the necessary plays. We went to the line and shot free throws and we didn’t back down. We guarded and rebounded.”

Grizzlies Shade Suns in Phoenix (4)

Jaren Jackson, Jr. added 24 points, six rebounds, and four assists, including 10-of-18 from the field, with three three-pointers and several strong finishes in the paint. Like the one below.

Grizzlies Shade Suns in Phoenix (2)

De’Anthony Melton, who came into his own after Morant missed four games due to back soreness, continued to make good use of his extended playing time off the bench. He finished the night with nine points, six rebounds, and a +22 in 19 minutes of play. 

Grizzlies Shade Suns in Phoenix (5)

Brandon Clarke returned to action after a four-game absence due to a sore left oblique. He led the bench unit with 15 points, seven rebounds, and two blocked shots in 22 minutes of action. Clarke still continues to be incredibly efficient, going 5-of-6 on the night, with 2-of-2 from three. Grizzlies fans should expect more from the Melton and Clarke duo. 

Grizzlies Shade Suns in Phoenix (3)

In 32 minutes, Jae Crowder stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals

Frank Kaminsky led the Suns with 24 points (season-high) and five rebounds while Ricky Rubio added 22 points and a game-high eight assists.

HOLY SH*T JA MORANT
Ja Morant has become a human highlight reel in his young NBA career. Mr. Fourth Quarter has had mind-blowing, jaw-dropping plays in nearly every game he has played this season. And Wednesday night in Phoenix was no exception.

Morant posterized Aron Baynes with a vicious dunk that brought #NBATwitter to life. It was the second time Morant has posterized Baynes. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe this nasty dunk.

Morant talked about the dunk after the game. He said, “That’s my game — I’m going to try to finish every time. The first time was an and-1, the second one was a dunk.” He says it felt good. See it below.

Morant added, “I feel like everybody knows that’s my game. To go to the rack with force and try to finish the play aggressive, and I was able to get one tonight. They (the bench) was just laughing, (saying) “It took you two months to get one.” They were just excited and it just shows the type of team we have.”

Brooks was ecstatic about the dunk. “Oh my gosh, I was screaming, Brooks proclaimed. “That’s how electric he (Morant) is — he’s a special player. If he’s having a tough game or whatever he finds a way to electrify the game to put us over the top.”

Grizzlies Shade Suns in Phoenix

Grizzlies Shade Suns in Phoenix (6)

Morant finished the game with 13 points, nine of which were scored in the final period with the game on the line. 


What They Said!!
Taylor Jenkins, Grizzlies Head Coach
On the game:

“Unbelievable effort by our guys tonight, two nights in a row. You could maybe chalk this up to being another complete game for us. The Suns went out and got a couple early runs on us; we were a little too casual. But when we locked in, our guys were really good defensively. A team that’s been killing it on the boards and second-chance points, we just outrebounded them with all their crashers and athletic guys going in there. That was huge for us. Great job.”

Jenkins continued: “Multiple guys guarded Devin Booker; Kaminsky got hot early, but we changed up some matchups and some coverages and I thought our guys handled that great. Offensively, as we have been talking about all season long, when teams go on runs against us, continue to trust the offense. There were a couple of moments there when we forced some things, but the ball kept moving around, some big plays down the stretch.

“One sequence I have to mention: they have a fast break play; we have two guys go in and I think De’Anthony (Melton), Brandon (Clarke) block the shot, we go down to the other end, we get a tip-in off an offensive rebound. Plays like that. There’s more of them throughout the game, but that one sticks out. The bench was huge for us tonight. Just credit to our guys going out getting two big wins to finish this road trip. These games are always hard at the end of a road trip. Proud of our guys’ effort tonight.”

Up Next

The Grizzlies return home to Memphis to host Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night at FedExForum. Antetokounmpo missed Wednesday night’s contest against the New Orleans Pelicans due to right quad tendon soreness. The Bucks extended their winning streak to 16 games against the Pelicans. It is unclear Antetokounmpo will be available to play in Friday’s game. 

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Beyond the Arc Sports

The Return of Ja Morant

After a four-game absence, the Grizzlies’ rookie sensation, Ja Morant, returned to the lineup and led Memphis to a road victory over the Golden State Warriors. Morant scored 13 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter. For the game, Morant had seven assists, three 3-pointers, and a steal, while going 8-for-14 from the field in the 110-102 win.

Morant is tied for third with Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard in NBA fourth-quarter scoring this season. “It was fun — I missed it,” said Morant on his return after back soreness. “It was tough sitting there on the sideline, knowing that I wanna be out there. It just felt good to get out there again.”

The 20-year-old said about his fourth quarter scoring, “I kinda just like to focus on what I can control and on what happens between those four lines. In terms of all the accolades and awards and numbers, I don’t really pay attention to that stuff. I just take what the defense gives me. I never try to force anything. I feel like they were going under a lot of my screens and it’s either shoot or attack or find the open man. I think that tonight we were able to get stops and play the way that we wanted to. We had a lot of people step up tonight.”

Coach Taylor Jenkins was pleased once again with his young guard’s performance. He said, “Yeah, there’s a lot of trust with him and when the ball is in his hands. … We wanted to make sure that he was playing a solid 48 minutes with an attack mentality, knowing that he is ‘score first,’ but he is also super unselfish and will make the right plays. Had a couple of assists late and had some buckets that we needed in order to kill a run.”

Jenkins continued, “As a team we have to get better as a coaching staff when teams are trying to take away Ja (Morant), especially late in the game. But it is certainly a great thing to see early on in his career.”

The Murray State product continues to wow with his presence on the floor. As Master P would say, Ja “makes ’em say uhh.” Here are a few of his plays from Monday night in San Francisco. 

The Return of Ja Morant

The Return of Ja Morant (2)


Here is another angle:

The Return of Ja Morant (3)


Morant spoke to Grizzlies sideline reporter Rob Fischer after the game. 

The Return of Ja Morant (4)

Notes

The Grizzlies ended a three game skid with the win.

The Grizzlies were helped by their strong night in transition, as they outscored the Warriors 25-10 in fast break points. It was the sixth time this season that the Grizzlies have shot 50.0 percent or better from the field (41-of-82).

Dillon Brooks was engaged on both ends of the floor and finished with 17 points.  

Jaren Jackson, Jr. added 16 points and a team-high three blocks.

Grayson Allen had 13 first half points and finished the game with 15 points, before leaving with an ankle injury. He went 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from the three-point line.

Jonas Valanciunas notched his 13th double-double of the season with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four assists on 5-of-7 shooting.

Alec Burks led the Warriors with 18 points, as well as seven rebounds and six assists.

D’Angelo Russell added 18 points, seven assists, and three rebounds for the Warriors. 


Up Next
The Grizzlies will continue their four-game road trip on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. CT against the Phoenix Suns inside Talking Stick Resort Arena.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Quarter Season Progress Report Part One – The Kids Are Alright

Ja Morant

Disclaimer: The Memphis Grizzlies are in the early stages of a full rebuild, and it is with that knowledge that one should apply criticism or judgment. The scope of possible outcomes for this season is markedly different than if this were a team contending for a playoff spot. 


Which is not to say that there should be no accountability or expectations at all placed on this team for this season, but context is key. The metrics that I have chosen to use for this evaluation were with that context in mind. There is importance in managing expectations in line with where the team has started and for the phase of rebuilding they are in currently.

Read on to see how the Grizzlies have fared in the first quarter of the season, what progress they have made, and what areas could use improvement. 

In the interest of readability, this is going to be broken up into 2-3 parts, starting with the youngest Grizzlies.

Jaren Jackson Jr. – has been shooting the ball well, but his rebounding numbers are an area that could use some improvement. Ideally, Jackson Jr. should be doubling his rebound numbers over the course of the season. Staying out of foul trouble is another area that needs improvement. Grade: B+

Ja Morant – a bit turnover prone, although that isn’t unusual for a rookie. Morant has great assist numbers and is shooting well. He is a dynamic player who is lots of fun to watch, which is good, as he is the future of the point guard position in Memphis. Grade: A

Brandon Clarke – is good at just about everything. Shoots well, rebounds proficiently, doesn’t turn the ball much. Once he is off the injured report, Clarke should see his usage rate go up, hopefully. Also, he is (still) currently rated as the top rookie in the league for Wins produced. Grade: A+

Grayson Allen – so far Allen has been a pleasant surprise. Is he now or will he be a superstar in this league? Probably not. But he is showing that he can be a proficient role player and has statistically improved since his rookie season with the Jazz. Allen has so far improved his shooting percentage, rebound percentage, and free throw percentage. Allen is ranked 11th among sophomores in free throw shooting. Grade: B-

Tyus Jones – his Grizzlies tenure has been a bit underwhelming thus far. His assist numbers are decent, but his scoring has been nothing much to write home about. Even factoring in the increased minutes Jones has been playing with Morant unavailable, he’s still struggling offensively. On a positive note, he does typically stay out of foul trouble. Grade: C

 

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Morant Named Western Conference Rookie of the Month

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant was named the NBA Western Conference Rookie of the month for games played during October and November. Morant is the first Grizzlies rookie to be named Western Conference Rookie of the Month since Nick Calathes in February 2014. 
Larry Kuzniewski

Ja Morant

The Murray State standout is averaging 18.6 points, 6.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 28.7 minutes per game in his rookie season. He is shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond the arc. Morant led all rookies in scoring average, assists per game, 20-point games (9) and double-doubles (3) through the end of November.

In his third NBA game, the rookie point guard tallied 30 points (career-high), nine assists, and four rebounds in 32 minutes. He became only the third player in NBA history to score at least 30 points and have at least nine assists within the first three games of their career, joining Isiah Thomas (1981) and Trae Young (2018).

Morant scored a game-winning bucket after splitting three defenders with a left-handed drive to the rim with 0.7 seconds left on the clock to lift the Grizzlies over the Hornets on November 13th. He led the way for his team that night, as he recorded the first double-double of his career, finishing with 23 points and 11 assists.

The 20-year-old became the youngest NBA player in nearly 10 years to make a game-winning basket on the road with under one second remaining in the game. 

Morant has consistently received high praise from fans and other players around the league. The second overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft shares Rookie of the Month honors with Miami Heat guard Kendrick Nunn, who earned the monthly award for the Eastern Conference. 

Morant is currently on the injured list, having missed two games with back spasms. He is listed as week-to-week. 

Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke was also a nominee for NBA Western Conference Rookie of the month honors. 

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Blues on Beale: Grizzlies Lose to Jazz 103-94

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

The Memphis Grizzlies suffered their sixth straight defeat, losing to the Utah Jazz on Friday night, 103–94. The Grizzlies’ last win was against those same Jazz on Nov 15th at FedExForum before a national TV audience in the teams’ first matchup. Memphis is now 5–13 on the year. 

Utah outscored Memphis 63–39 in the second half, after the Grizzlies led 55-40 at the half. The Grizzlies shot 45.7 percent in the first half, but the Jazz held them to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half. The Jazz scored 12 straight points to open the third quarter. 

Third-quarter woes continue to plague Memphis early in the season. “We didn’t do what we needed to do in the third quarter, because we let them come out and punch us early and we didn’t respond,” said Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson, Jr. “Credit to them. They were active on the glass, actively just making the right plays, hitting a lot of shots, but we have to know that that’s coming. Especially because we played well in the first half.”

Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins didn’t mince words after the game. He said, “Great first half, terrible second half . Credit the Jazz. They came and played a whole lot harder than us in the third quarter, and that’s why they won the ball game.”

Jenkins described how the Jazz set the tone for the second half, “We turned over the first possession. We gave up an offensive rebound. They scored. We controlled the boards in the first half, and then the next possession, they go down and miss a wide-open layup in transition —  get an offensive rebound, put it in, call timeout, come out and continue to get offensive rebounds. I think they had [13] second-chance points in the second half or something along those lines. It’s been a weakness of ours. We just didn’t come ready to play in the third quarter, and they took full advantage of it.”

“We came out with a sense of urgency,” said Utah guard Donovan Mitchell. “We knew we were better than what we showed. So, for us, it was just continuing to battle. It helps when Bojan [Bogdanovic] gets hot. Mike [Conley] made some crucial plays. Royce [O’Neale] had defensive stops, and we all did our best to do our part.”

Difficulties maintaining leads

For the sixth time this season, the Grizzlies blew a double-digit lead — the most in the NBA.

“We just have to execute,” said Jackson. “We have to continue to do the things that we were doing and expect the team to play harder, but we can’t expect them to bring the same energy or drop their energy because they’re losing. They probably got ripped at halftime. They’re probably feeling a type of way, and they’re probably getting amped up. We have to come out there and make sure we deliver.”

Sharon Brown


Playing with the same energy a full 48 minutes

“We have to play all four quarters like we did in the first half,” said rookie guard Ja Morant. “It helped us get out to a bigger lead, I think like 15 points. We just have to do that all four quarters.”

Energy and effort may be an issue. Morant said of the second half, “It was us — high energy just died down and they just took advantage of it.”

“I feel like it was just us mainly coming out in the third quarter with a lack of energy, lack of focus and they capitalized on that,” said Grizzlies rookie forward Brandon Clarke. 

The Grizzlies can’t win when Morant and Jackson combine for 7-of 26 from the field. Morant ended the game with 11 points (4-of-13) and four assists. Jackson chipped in nine points (3-of-13) and four assists plus four blocks. With his fourth block, he reached 100 career blocks and became the third-fastest player in franchise history to tally 100 career blocks, behind only Pau Gasol and Roy Rogers.

For the second consecutive game, Jonas Valanciunas was the Grizzlies high scorer with 22 points and 17 rebounds. He posted his 11th double-double of the season. 

Sharon Brown

Jonas Valanciunas

Clarke tallied 13 points off the bench and went 5-of-6 from the field. Clarke has a 64.3 percent field goal percentage this season.

Utah’s Bojan Bogdanovic tied his season-high with 33 points while shooting 12-of-20 from the field (4–8 from three). He scored 16 points in the fourth quarter. Donovan Mitchell added 20 points, while Rudy Gobert notched his 11th double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds. 

Up Next

The Grizzlies will travel to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves on Sunday. Tip-off at 2:30 pm, CST. 

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Fall to Clippers at Home in 5th Straight Loss

The Grizzlies dropped another excruciatingly close game to a Western Conference contender. Wednesday’s 121-119 loss to the Clippers extends the team’s current losing streak to a season-high five games and marks the 4th consecutive loss on their home court. There were some clear stand-out performances from individual players, but once again the Grizzlies blew a double-digit lead with sloppy play, and ultimately, the game in the final moments.

Death, Taxes, and the Grizzlies Unable to Closeout a Game
This seems to be one of the themes of the season: an inability to put together four consistent quarters of basketball. A team in the early stages of the sort of scorched-earth rebuilding process that Memphis is currently undergoing should almost be expected not to be very good. However, there is still room for both criticism and praise regarding the outcomes along the way. What makes these losses so frustrating is the carelessness that leads to them.

Jonas Valanciunas was the clear player of the game for the Grizzlies, with a season-high 30 points and a season-best 16 rebounds. Ja Morant also stood out with his second consecutive double-double, scoring 20 points and racking up 11 assists, and 14 of those 20 points in the 4th quarter.

Per Grizzlies PR: “The Grizzlies entered the game with the league’s best three-point field goal percentage over the last three weeks (.408 since Nov. 6). The team continued its hot streak from long range, shooting 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from beyond the arc.” Jonas Valanciunas

What They Said – Coach Taylor Jenkins


On tonight’s game:

“Heck of an effort by our guys, proud of them especially after how we played in Indiana. Defense wasn’t there in the first quarter, giving up 35 points, but then holding them under 30 … which was a trend of ours, giving up a lot of 30-point quarters in recent games. Our guys stuck with it; I was proud of them on how they came out being down at four at half time. Take, I think on a 7-0 run, take a three-point lead.

These are those moments where we are getting better, withstand some runs against a heck of a team and score 119 points against currently the best defense in the league. It’s those pivotal moments throughout the game, a couple of missed cues here and there on offense and one of our Achilles heels is just getting rebounds.

Same thing happened in the Lakers game. Anthony Davis gets a rebound uncontested, we have a chance, we give up two offensive rebounds on the last possession, and you are snake bit by it. We have to get better. I thought our urgency was great to start for most of the game, coming into the game it was a heck of a game. Credit the Clippers for coming up with some big plays, some big threes and rebounding down the stretch. We have to get better from it and we have to know that this stuff is important for us to move forward and get better from it.”

On the last play, when the Grizzlies had the ball with 2.3 seconds left, and a chance to tie:

“So, we were hoping to get a defender to fall asleep with his [Jaren Jackson Jr.’s] cut to the rim and then kind of snap him out into a corner three, and if that wasn’t open Solo [Solomon Hill] was going to be open at the top of the key. I thought we set a good screen, they did a great job getting through, kind of put him off balance, which put him in a tough spot. That is a play we have worked on. Credit to the Clippers on taking that away.” 

 

What They Said – Jaren Jackson Jr.

On finding the balance of shooting threes and playing down low:
“I just want to take the right shot at the right time and take what the defense gives me. Team-to-team, they are going to play me differently. They’re going to close out on certain shooters more so I’m just taking what they are giving me.” 

On having the big plays called for him at the end of the game:
“I have to do better with it. Two straight times I didn’t get it done. Once I get it done, I’ll probably have a better reaction to it. I’m happy they go to me, but I’ve got to finish the job for them.” 

On what happened during the last sequence of the game, when the Grizzlies had the ball ant a chance to tie with 2.3 seconds left. “When I came off, I caught it and he kind of took up the space when I gave him time as I was turning around. I probably turned around too slowly. I should have gotten a better look at it. That’s on me. I need to be a little smarter with turning and reading them (the defense). If they were switching, I could have come off in a different way or quicker. Whatever it is, I didn’t do it.”  The Grizzlies return to FedExForum on Friday, November 29th to once again face off against Mike Conley and the Utah Jazz.


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Jackson and Morant Shine as Grizzlies Fall to Lakers 109–108

CREDIT: Sharon Brown

There are no moral victories; a loss is still a loss. However, a young Grizzlies team can take positives away from Saturday night’s loss to the Lakers — and learn from it. 

Jaren Jackson, Jr. and Ja Morant performed like the Grizzlies must have envisioned they would when they were paired together. It was the first time this season that Jackson and Morant scored 20+ points in the same game.

Morant ended the night with 26 points, six assists, and a career-high five steals in 33 minutes. It was Morant’s eighth game of 20-or-more points this season. The rookie point guard entered the game averaging 23.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists in 27.3 minutes in his last seven home games. 

“I think it just flat out shows (our game),” said Morant about the loss to the Lakers. “That no matter what, we can be in ball games and win ball games. We weren’t able to close out tonight, but tonight showed what type of team we are and who we want to be. I’m never satisfied with losing, but I can say I’m satisfied with how we played tonight. We played together, competed to the end and just came up short.”

Morant had many “wow” moments in the game. See below. 

Jackson and Morant Shine as Grizzlies Fall to Lakers 109–108

Jackson and Morant Shine as Grizzlies Fall to Lakers 109–108 (2)

According to Grizzlies PR, Morant became the first NBA rookie to record 25+ points, 5+ assists and 5+ steals in a game since John Wall on Nov. 2, 2010.

Jackson Jr. finished the night with 20 points, seven rebounds, and two steals, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 4-of-7 from deep. It was Jackson’s fourth game with four-or-more three-pointers in his first 14 games this season after having two such games in the 58 games he played during his rookie season.

Jackson also saw the positives in the loss. “It just shows that we came to compete today — we brought all the energy; it started on defense,” Jackson said. “I am just proud of the effort we gave. Obviously, we wanted to pull it out at the end but the ball doesn’t bounce your way. We just got to take the good things and move on and the bad things and try to figure them out, too.”

Jackson added, “We understand that if we bring it we’re always gonna be in ball games. Little things like that, we learn more and more every day. We have to focus on our effort because our youth and energy can sometimes win out if we’re running hard and we’re playing defense and we’re scrambling and wearing teams down and playing in transition. So, I think those are the things we’ve gotta focus on.”

Jackson and Morant Shine as Grizzlies Fall to Lakers 109–108 (4)

Jackson and Morant Shine as Grizzlies Fall to Lakers 109–108 (3)

Jae Crowder chipped in a season-high 21 points while knocking down 4-of-9 from the three-point line. 

After the game, Crowder said, “We have to play better on any given night. I feel like we brought it tonight because of who we were playing. Good teams bring it every night, no matter their opponent, so once we learn from this game, we can continue to build, take this to Indiana and get us a win on the road. It’s definitely something to build off of.”

Crowder acknowledged that the team doesn’t bring it every night. “I think it’s just being with a young team,” he said. “Knowing that shots may not fall on a nightly basis but your effort and energy have to be there on a nightly basis. So you have to take care of your bodies and be prepared to play at a maximum level each and every night.”

Kyle Anderson came off the bench and garnered 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists while shooting 5-of-11 from the field.

LeBron James led all scorers with 30 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while grabbing his 9,000th career rebound.


What They Said!
Taylor Jenkins, Grizzlies head coach

On the game: “Heck of a game by our guys. I’m super proud of their efforts from the beginning of the game to the end of the game. One-point loss against the best team in the league. I know there are no moral victories, but how our guys competed for 48 minutes, I’m beyond proud given how we played the last two games. (We) had a chance to win at the end — a couple of plays on offense, big time rebound at the end that we have to learn from, but we got significantly better today, and I’m proud of how they played. If we can play like that every night we give ourselves a chance.”

On Jackson Jr.’s contribution to the offense: “For him to be very versatile, plays off the bounce, hitting threes. … He’s an inside-out player. It’s huge for his growth. He’s still really young in his career, so as he’s identifying those opportunities to be in attack mode I think it really benefits our offense. We need another dimension outside of just our point guards being playmakers. To have him be a playmaker for us is huge.”


On the Grizzlies’ youth: “Like I said to them after the game: super proud. Their effort was unbelievable. Our defensive activity set a tone to start the game. If we can play up to that standard night in and night out you’re going to hopefully have a chance to win more ball games. Obviously, in the fourth quarter, a couple of moments there where we have to execute a little bit better. But what they were able to do for a majority of the game, that’s where we have to be. That’s what we’ve hung our hat on. A week ago, it kind of slipped away from us, but if they can kind of engrain that into their mind, this is what it is. This is the fun style to compete that way. I’m super proud, and that’s the Grizzlies I love to be a part of.”

Up Next
Grizzlies travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers on Monday night. Tip-off at 6 pm CST. 

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Cold Night for the Grizzlies: Denver 131-Memphis 114.

CREDIT: Sharon Brown

Sharon Brown

The Shirelles’ top-ten hit, told us, “Mama said there’d be days like this,” and it was true for the young Grizzlies on Sunday night before the home crowd.

The Denver Nuggets ended Memphis’ three-game win streak in a decisive fashion, 131-114. Before the blowout loss, the Grizzlies had won four of their last six outings.

After three exciting wins — ruining Tony Parker’s retirement ceremony by downing the Spurs; last-minute heroics by Ja Morant in Charlotte; wrecking Mike Conley’s homecoming by defeating the Utah Jazz — the Grizzlies just went cold. 

Cold Night for the Grizzlies: Denver 131-Memphis 114.

And that about sums it up for the home team. Jamal Murray put on a show and the Grizzlies paid for it dearly. Murray had a bad game against the Brooklyn Nets on November 14th. In that game, he only scored four points, going 1-of-11 from the field.

It was different story Sunday night, as Murray got the first nine points for Denver. Murray ended with 39 points (season-high), four rebounds, and eight assists in 31 minutes of play with zero turnovers. Murray had the “it factor” and the Grizzlies had no answer for him.
The only person who stopped Murray was Denver Coach Mike Malone, who set him down for the entire fourth quarter. 

Notes

The Nuggets went on a 34–6 run (including a 24–2 run) to turn an eight-point deficit (36–28) early in the second quarter into a 20-point lead (62–42) with 2:48 left before halftime.
Denver outscored the Grizzlies in the second quarter 44-17. The game got out of hand in the third period, when Denver got up by as many as 33 points.  

Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 22 points and five rebounds, setting a career-high by going 5-of-7 from three-point range.

Brandon Clarke had a perfect night from the field, going 8-of-8, ending up with 19 points. Prior to the Nuggets game, Clarke ranked first among all NBA rookies at 61.5 percent shooting on the year.

Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points (including 12 in the first quarter) and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes for his eighth double-double of the season and 12th straight game in double-figure scoring. 

Paul Millsap put together a season-high-tying 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting (.727) and registered a season-high in steals, with five.

What They Said
Head coach Taylor Jenkins

On the game:

“Tough one for us today. We didn’t start the way that we needed to. Down 7–0, we got a bucket but our energy to start wasn’t quite there. But, credit to our guys. We kind of flipped the script after that first timeout and we ended up taking an 11-point lead. But, tons of credit to the Nuggets. They raised their level to an elite level, and our guys just couldn’t really catch that second gear. It just wasn’t our day today. So, a lot of credit to the Nuggets, especially in that second quarter. We tried to claw back here and there, but that second quarter kind of got away from us. And as we’ve experienced throughout the year so far when these moments happen, how can we just kind of face some of that adversity. But, credit the Nuggets. That’s a heck of a team and a great learning opportunity for our young team.”

On De’Anthony Melton:

“Tons of credit goes to De’Anthony. We’ve talked about him constantly staying prepared with his individual work, his G League assignments. I’m super happy with where he’s at. He made an impact immediately, kind of coming in defensively and getting his hands on a couple of balls, shooting with confidence, making plays for his teammates, had a great pass to Brandon Clarke for a roll dunk. So, I’m really impressed with him and he’s definitely going to be someone who will make an impact for our team at some point.”


On whether he thinks Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. are where they need to be defensively:

“Not just them, but everyone, we’ve got a long way to go. I mean, the nights where we’re giving up 130 points, that’s not the scenario that we want to set. We talked all along how they can be impactful on both ends of the floor. I think Ja has been taking some big strides the last week or so, but tonight was a tough match. Jamal Murray is a heck of a player. But, trying to unleash their activity, (Jaren) blocking shots and rebounding, he’s starting to find his comfort and all that stuff. Tonight was not indicative of what they can be defensively, but I think all of us as a team have big steps that we have to take on that end.”

The Infie 500

Cold Night for the Grizzlies: Denver 131-Memphis 114. (2)

Up Next

The Grizzlies will host the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. Tip-off at 7 pm CST.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Ja Morant, the Hero Memphis Needed

Rookie Ja Morant scored a game-winning bucket after splitting three defenders with a left-handed drive to the rim with 0.7 seconds left on the clock to lift the Grizzlies over the Hornets on Wednesday night, 119–117. Not all heroes wear capes, but he does wear number 12.

Ja Morant, the Hero Memphis Needed

Ja Morant, the Hero Memphis Needed (2)

After being down by as many as 12 in the third period, the young Grizzlies went on a 22–5 run to get back in the game. In the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies saw their 10 point lead evaporate as Charlotte bounced back to tie the game 117-117 with 24.3 seconds left to play.

It took a balanced effort for Memphis to pull off its second straight victory on the road and its first back-to-back wins of the season.

Memphis connected on a season-high 17 three-point shots on 35 attempts (48.6 percent) and also shoot 53.3 percent from the field.

Morant led the way, as he recorded the first double-double of his career, finishing with 23 points and 11 assists.

Marko Guduric added 17 points while going 4-of-6 from the three-point line. Jonas Valanciunas recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds in 23 minutes.

Jaren Jackson, Jr. continues to shine after going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc while garnering 16 points and six rebounds.

Terry Rozier had a game-high 33 points (7-of-12 from deep) and six assists for the Hornets. As a reserve, Malik Monk put up 20 points with eight rebounds and five assists. 

Up Next
Mike Conley will make his return to FedExForum with his new team as the Grizzlies will host the Utah Jazz on Friday night, tip-off 7 pm CST.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Take First Road Win of the Season

CREDIT: Joe Murphy/NBAE

Joe Murphy/NBAE

Jaren Jackson Jr.

The Grizzlies gained their first road victory of the season, downing the San Antonio Spurs 113–109, Monday night. The Grizzlies’ win came after back-to-back losses against the Orlando Magic, and division rivals, the Dallas Mavericks.
 
Jaren Jackson, Jr. led the Grizzlies with 24 points (a season high), six rebounds, and five assists. Jackson has bounced back after he failed to score in the Grizzlies’ home victory over the Timberwolves last week. In the last two games, Jackson has scored 23 and 24 points, respectively.

Jackson tied his career-high by knocking down four three-pointers. Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins was pleased with his second-year forward’s performance. “He was impacting the game on both ends of the floor,” Jenkins said.  Jenkins said Jackson’s presence on the floor and not in foul trouble is a tremendous gain for the team. “Obviously, not being in foul trouble helped him produce on the offensive end, just being on the floor.”

He continued, “Defensively, just playing solid defense. Contesting shots at the rim, especially a lot of contested jumpers, you know we’ll roll with him because I think he’s been working hard over the last couple weeks. Especially this last week, just being more disciplined defensively and continuing to be active and disciplined at the same time. Then offensively, rim running, getting those deep seals. If it’s not there, then just facilitating, hitting four threes tonight, just playing within the offense. It’s a heck of a job by him and a heck of a job by our team tonight.”

Ja Morant was complimentary of his teammate’s play against the Spurs. He said, “He [Jackson] is getting comfortable. His confidence is back. You can tell he is playing with that ‘bop’, not thinking about it too much. And we just tell him to hoop, because we need it.”

After the game, Jackson admitted he was in a funk and his conversations with Jenkins had helped him. Jackson said, “We have a lot of conversations. We talk at practice every day. It wasn’t anything specific. I definitely expressed to him that I was in a funk and we just talked about it.” Jackson went on to say, “It’s not like something you just magically change. I just expressed it to him. He expressed to me, ‘You just have to keep focusing on the things that are important’ — coming in, your work habits, and working hard every day, and I agree with him.”

Notes: Dillon Brooks chipped in 21 points off of 8-of-17 from the field. Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points and 12 rebounds, along with two blocks. Brandon Clarke continued to shine, with 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench. He went 6-of-7 from the field. 

Lamarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 19 points while Rudy Gay added 18 points and eight rebounds as a reserve. 

The Grizzlies finished the game 44-of-87 from the field (50.6 percent) and 11-of-28 from beyond the arc (39.3 percent). 
Larry Kuzniewski

Jaren Jackson Jr.

Memphis finally played well in the third quarter. For the first time this season, the Grizzlies outscored an opponent in the third period, 34–26. 

Grizzlies head coach, Taylor Jenkins used his first challenge of the season. Coaches are allowed one challenge per game, this season. With 9.4 seconds left, Jackson was called for a foul on Spurs guard Derrick White as he drove towards the basket. On review, it was revealed that Jackson didn’t touch him and the call was overturned.

Up Next
The Grizzlies will travel to Charlotte to take on the Hornets on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. CT.