And four for the Wizards! Washington signed its fourth consecutive victory by overcoming a decimated Memphis team.
Despite the absence of the rear-wheel drive Morant-Bane, and still of Jaren Jackson Jr, the Grizzlies had nevertheless started the meeting well, resisting the assaults of the Avdija-Porzingis pair with in particular Tyus Jones and John Konchar in tune (23-19 ). After good passages from Santi Aldama and Dillon Brooks at the start of the second quarter, Memphis had even taken the lead following an 11-0 marked by the 3-pointers of Santi Aldama, the dunk of Jake LaRavia and the alley-oop between Tyus Jones and Brandon Clarke (38-47).
Problem, the series had the merit of stinging Washington to the quick. The Wizards then rectified the situation before the break, also responding with an 11-0 concluded by two distant missiles from Kristaps Porzingis. The Latvian then put the cover back at the half-time buzzer in order to replace his team at +4 (55-51).
Memphis held firm on returning from the locker room by recovering to its particularly inspired 1-5 Jones-Adams axis in the third quarter (68-68). Until a new hot shot from the locals at 3-points, this time through Deni Avdija, Will Barton and Rui Hachimura (82-74).
The Wizards then killed the suspense in the first minutes of the last act, with a new flurry of long shots to bend Memphis for good. Corey Kispert twice, Kristaps Porzingis and Jordan Goodwin then brought their stone to the building in order to relegate the Grizzlies to 14 lengths (96-82). Enough to see them come to the end and win 102-92.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Rain of 3-points on the capital. The showers punctuated the evening until they overwhelmed the poor Grizzlies. Apart from Daniel Gafford, all Washington players entered the game scored at least one 3-point basket, for a total of 19/40 in the exercise. Clearly the element that changed the game, Memphis having on its side returned to 9/28, below the 33% success rate…
– Enough is enough. Already deprived of Jaren Jackson Jr since the resumption, the Grizzlies had to compose without Ja Morant (ankle) and Desmon Bane. Deprived of their main offensive weapons, Memphis did not last long and ended up cracking at the end of the third quarter. Unsurprisingly, no player has exceeded 20 points. It also took 22 attempts for Dillon Brooks to finish at 19 units…
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Deni Avdija. The click time has come for the Wizards winger. Author of 21 points (equaled career record), he confirmed the level of his previous outings and exudes more confidence than in the past. The EuroBasket experience is undoubtedly not insignificant in this successful start to the season for the Israeli international.
✅ Kristaps Porzingis. The interior is also in good shape and it shows in its ease behind the bow, with a few step-backs to magnify the whole thing. His 6/10 by far is his best score of this beginning of the season. We have also seen him present on block, interception and even in transition. A kind of Latvian Victor Wembanyama!
✅Santi Aldama. In line with what he has produced since the start of the season, with exterior address, defense and a reading of the game that is always precious for the Grizzlies, all the more so in this context.
⛔️ The bankruptcy of the “leaders”. Tyus Jones, Dillon Brooks, Brandon Clarke and Steven Adams, these are the players Memphis could have relied on in the absence of the Morant-Bane-Jackson trio. If we can spare Steven Adams, whose production will have been interesting on both sides of the floor, there would be fault with the performances of Tyus Jones (7/18), Dillon Brooks (7/22) and Brandon Clarke (1/7 in 15 minutes), who failed to raise their level of play when they had a great opportunity to do so.
THE FOLLOWING
Wizards (8-6): Washington will host OKC this Wednesday (01:00).
Grizzlies (9-5): appointment Tuesday in Louisiana to face the Pelicans (01h30).
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