Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr, Ziaire Williams or even John Konchar… They were all absent on the Grizzlies side but that did not prevent them from showing control, to repel the Heat (101-93). This third victory in a row, the fifth in six games, allows them to regain their place in the top three in the West.
Thanks to the outside address of Caleb Martin, neglected by the defense of the locals, the Floridians had however taken the best start after twelve minutes of a match which could be announced offensive (27-32). With good streaks from rookie Kennedy Chandler, in support of the unlikely pair Tyus Jones – Santi Aldama, the Grizzlies signed a big second quarter to take the lead at the break (58-51).
With even tighter defenses thereafter, the two teams tied the game in the third act, marked by the gradual awakening of Jimmy Butler, who had scored only one basket in the first period. With two more possessions ahead at the start of the home stretch (82-77), the Grizzlies showed patience in the final minutes.
By offering a ten-point lead (94-84), after yet another acceleration towards the circle of Tyus Jones, the locals could afford to scrounge precious seconds on each possession. The Heat being unable to sanction behind the arc in this fourth quarter, the locals won without difficulty.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Too beefy bears inside. The differential is terrible against the Heat. The latter conceded 64 points in his paint and registered only 24 in the racket of the Grizzlies. The locals have thus largely compensated for their external clumsiness by attacking the circle. Besides Tyus Jones’ multiple penetrations, insides Santi Aldama, Brandon Clarke or Stevens Adams all hurt the Heat on the inside. A Heat who only signed three blocks in the game.
– Miami does not chain. We could really imagine seeing Miami follow up in Memphis after their benchmark victory three days earlier on the Celtics’ floor. Especially against a Grizzlies team so diminished and playing a second “back-to-back” game. But the Floridians, who nevertheless remained on four victories in five games and who were complete (apart from Victor Oladipo), were not able to display their conquering face seen in Massachusetts. At the heart of a very dense soft underbelly in the East, Miami currently occupies only 9th place.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Tyus Jones. The boss of the evening! Ja Morant’s usual understudy recalled why the Grizzlies had the good idea to extend it for two years for 30 million dollars. This offered a career record, while signing his second double-double of the year. He largely won his duel with Kyle Lowry.
✅ Santi Aldama. The other nice surprise of the evening on the Grizzlies side. The strong winger also signed his second double-double of the year after taking advantage of the good balls distributed by Tyus Jones precisely. In addition to his indoor activity, he showed that he was capable of sanctioning in “catch-and-shoot” behind the arc.
⛔ The Heat bench. While all of Miami’s starters finished with 10 or more points, without making a big splash overall, their replacements didn’t help much when they were called up. Like a Dewayne Dedmon who missed all his shots (0/5), committed 4 fouls and finished on a -17 score when he was in play for an appearance of… nine minutes. Duncan Robinson, he chained a second “DNP” in a row…
THE FOLLOWING
Grizzlies (15-9) : reception of the Thunder, Wednesday.
Heat (11-13) : reception of the Pistons, the next night.
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