After their victory over the Magic the day before (113-108), the Grizzlies received the Clippers for a duel that smelled good of the playoffs… Except that the Memphis staff had taken precautions by doing without several key players, including Jaren Jackson Jr. ., Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones.
Opposite, the Clippers were evolving without Paul George, still injured, but also Kawhi Leonard, last minute package for personal reasons. But Russell Westbrook (36 points, 10 assists) and Robert Covington (27 points) took care of everything to lead the Clippers to victory in an “open house” match (141-132).
Ja Morant (36 points, 9 assists but 8 stray bullets) and Dillon Brooks (30 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) showed great resistance but Memphis ended up cracking in the last minutes of the game. While Bones Hyland (12 of his 20 points in the last quarter, plus 6 assists) and the Clippers bench made the difference in the second half.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— Tension in the air. It has almost become a (bad?) habit on the side of Memphis, it plays hard, it talks a lot and it sometimes comes to blows. This night against the Clippers, who are not the last to also open their mouths, the match was physical from start to finish and it was in the third quarter that it almost went down in peanuts, especially between Covington and Brooks. But also between Westbrook and Brooks, with the first who would have described the second as “waste”. Something to raise the tension. A tension poorly managed by the Grizzlies at the end of the match…
— The Clippers finish with a bang. Tied at 122 everywhere 6 minutes from the end, we were headed willy-nilly towards a knife-edge finish between two teams who were not afraid. But that’s when the Clippers delivered a fatal boost to the Grizzlies, a 14-4 orchestrated by the Westbrook-Hyland duo that wreaked havoc on the (already not very well in place) Memphis defense. The highlight of the show, and the final nail in the coffin of the Grizzlies, Covington returned his 7th consecutive 3-point shot. Curtain ! “We just kept our cool,” appreciated Westbrook in retrospect. “We managed to make stops and get some good shots in the last five-six minutes. We executed our systems well at the end of the match. »
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Russell Westbrook. It was vintage Russ that night in Tennessee! Impeccable from 3-pointers at 5/5, Westbrook had his legs of fire and his game perfectly under control against Morant, whom he dominated physically. With 36 points at 13/18 on shots, and 41 evaluation, Westbrook simply had his best game of the season.
✅ Robert Covington. Same for Covington. The veteran winger hasn’t had many good nights this season; tonight was the one with a perfect 3-pointer at 7/7. He finished at 27 units, well above his sad season average under 6 points…
✅⛔ Ja Morant. If he again multiplied the arabesques at high altitude and returned a big 3-point shot to equalize on the buzzer of the 3rd quarter, Morant also abused in the management of the leather. With 36 points, 9 assists, it’s the good Ja. But guilty of 8 stray balls, a 2/8 at 3-point and dominated in his direct duel against Westbrook, it’s the wrong Ja…
⛔ Grizzlies bench. The statistic hurts the head for Memphis fans: 66 to 21! While the Clippers were able to count on Covington and Hyland in their twenties, but also Plumlee and Powell, the Grizzlies bench was far too weak to take over from its incumbents (also efficient). Memphis ran out of arms.
THE FOLLOWING
LA Clippers (41-36) And Memphis (48-28): again in Memphis on Saturday night.
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