After sweeping a five-game homestand, the Grizzlies hit the road for the next four games. First up was another meeting with the Oklahoma City Thunder in what should have been an easy win.
Spoiler alert: It was not. The final score was 115-109 in favor of a Thunder team missing its two best players in Shai Gilegeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey.
Let’s get into it.
The first point the Grizzlies put on the board was Steven Adams splitting a pair of free throws after being fouled on the first possession and that should have been a sign of what was to come.
First half woes were the biggest contributors to the Grizzlies demise against the Thunder, culminating with the undue ejection of Ja Morant with 43 seconds left in the second quarter.
Morant was assessed two back-to-back technical fouls within less than a minute, the second under contested circumstances when he allegedly made derogatory remarks about the officiating to some Memphis fans near the court. Dillon Brooks also ended up acquiring a tech when Morant was ejected.
From Ja Morant postgame via NBA.com: ”I got my first tech for saying I got hit in my f**king face. Didn’t curse at him,” Morant said. ”Another situation where he’s in my conversation and I get another tech for talking with a fan. I feel like when these fans came here, went online to buy these tickets, they didn’t say Ray’s (Acosta) name to come watch.”
Oklahoma City outscored Memphis 64-43 in the first half with the Grizzlies shooting 27.3% overall and 19% from beyond the arc. The Grizzlies outscored the Thunder 66-51 in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome the huge deficit they accumulated in the first half.
Memphis shot a season worst 26.7% from three-point range. Ironically, they had a better than usual free throw percentage (78.4%) although they still missed 8 free throws in a game they lost by 6. Poor shot selection and the inability to defend without fouling in the second half hurt the Grizzlies more than poor free throw shooting.
Nothing to do but move on to the next one. Despite this loss, the Grizzlies remain the top team in the Western Conference.
By The Numbers:
Dillon Brooks had a game-high 32 points on 10-of-24 overall shooting and 6 of 15 from beyond the arc.
Jaren Jackson Jr finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and a rare zero block game for him.
From the bench unit, Tyus Jones closed out with 15 points, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
Brandon Clarke had 10 points, 8 rebounds, and one block and Santi Aldama put up 7 points and 5 rebounds while shooting 5 of 5 from the free throw line.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies are headed to Denver to take on the Nuggets Tuesday night, December 20th. Tip-off is at 9 PM CST and unfortunately there is no local broadcast for this one, so fans will have to watch this one on TNT.
