Present at the Fedex Forum, the former interior Zach Randolph, one of the fathers of “Grit&Grind” must have appreciated the spectacle offered by his successors this night against Milwaukee, one of the strongholds of the Eastern Conference, but which did not exist on this game.
The start of the game quickly allowed Memphis to take shelter. Contrary to usual, it was two “role players” who contributed to widening the gap: David Roddy and Tyus Jones. The first chained two baskets and an assist for Steven Adams’ dunk, the second with two 3-point missiles and a service for Roddy to bring the score to 33-18 after 12 minutes.
Milwaukee was not at the end of its troubles as only Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis managed to pull out of the game. Always uncompromising in defense, the locals added salt before the break, with a Tyus Jones still inspired and a Brooks-Clarke tandem in perfect relay of a Ja Morant more than ever captain of the ship.
The point guard thus offered the highlight of the show with a 3-pointer then ending the first half with two baskets in the space of 30 seconds. Enough to relegate the Bucks to 29 lengths at the break (70-41)!
Foot to the floor, the Grizzlies continued their demonstration like the successful 3-point shots of Jaren Jackson Jr and Dillon Brooks. It was then Santi Aldama who made the show, between dunk, alley-oop and 3-points, before letting Ja Morant validate his triple-double of an alley-oop for Brandon Clarke (110-69). Recess had just been whistled, Ja Morant celebrated his return to the bench and the substitutes were able to finish the job without being too scared. Five minutes from the end, the Grizzlies bench took part in a long “Ola”, before finally celebrating the victory, the 7th in a row.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Grizzlies demonstration. It’s as if Memphis had regained the momentum of its end of last regular season, with each rotation which improves the collective and a feeling of domination thanks to the aggressiveness of its players on both sides of the floor. At the finish, eight players scored 10 points or more. Milwaukee never seemed able to match the intensity level of the locals. The bar of 50 points difference is one of the edifying figures of the night. The worst part is that Desmond Bane, revelation of last season, was not playing!
– Ja Morant’s triple-double. His overflowing activity was again rewarded. In this one-sided game, he was the mastermind of the dominant team, playing 200 an hour with every possession. While the suspense was already over, the third quarter thus turned into a “TD” race for Ja Morant who finally validated it on two caviars for Santi Aldama and Brandon Clarke. It’s only his third triple-double this season.
– The scratch of Bobby Portis. The action that somehow signaled the end of the game. While Ja Morant had just secured his triple-double and the gap had exceeded 40 points, Bobby Portis cracked on a rebound fight won by Santi Aldama. When he saw his opponent go on the counterattack, the interior of the Bucks grabbed the Spaniard’s jersey and gave him beautiful scratches on the shoulder blade, to finally be sanctioned with a Flagrant 1.
Bobby Portis fury swipes Santi Aldama fighting for the rebound and the play gets reviewed for a flagrant 1 foul, Aldama shows off the battle scars after the fact pic.twitter.com/sX5L7gqaxS
— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) December 16, 2022
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Ja Morant. First player in franchise history to record a triple-double before the end of the third quarter, the point guard again flew over the debates by actively participating in putting the Bucks on the ropes.
✅ The Grizzlies bench. Difficult to take out a player from the lot behind Morant as everyone has brought their stone to the building. We therefore vote for the impact of the bench since originally it was the Jones-Roddy tandem that allowed Memphis to make its first gap, and the players off the bench totaled 80 points!
⛔️ Khris Middleton. The winger went through a real black hole. He notably found himself at 5 personal fouls at the start of the third quarter after 18 minutes spent on the field. The worst remains his clumsiness in shooting since he had to wait for his 9th attempt before seeing the ball cross the net. He ended his evening at 1/12 with an air-ball at the head of the racket…
THE FOLLOWING
Memphis (18-9): the Grizzlies will aim for the big eight on the OKC side this Saturday (02:00).
Milwaukee (20-7): the Bucks go home for the Utah reception this Saturday (2 a.m.).
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