The duel between Atlanta And Memphis had everything to be a great celebration of basketball, but the two franchises took the opportunity to rest Trae Young and Ja Morant, respectively injured in the heel and back, which gave rise to a very sad match between the two teams!
Because in addition to the absence of the two best players from both teams, the suspense was not really there. That's the least we can say, as the difference in level between the two teams was quickly felt. Led by Scotty Pippen Jr. And Desmond Bane (22 and 23 points, 9 and 8 assists), the Grizzlies in fact killed the match in the first quarter by passing 43 points, at 8/15 at 3-points to end the first 12 minutes at +16 ( 27-43).
Enough to make the task easier for Taylor Jenkins and his men, who had the merit of not giving up afterward, between Jaren Jackson Jr's “floater” and Marcus Smart's 2+1 to set the tone from the start of the second quarter -time, where the remarkable passage of Scotty Pippen Jr, author of three baskets in a row including a 3-pointer then two services for long-range arrows from Desmond Bane and Jake LaRavia (47-70).
The revolt was long overdue… and never arrived, since the gap continued to climb after the break, up to +29 for Memphis after another good sequence from Scotty Pippen Jr, in scoring or passing , to serve in particular Jaylen Wells at 3-points (64-93). Clearly, the efforts of De'Andre Hunter, accompanied at the end by the Bogdanovic-Risacher-Nance trio, were not enough to revive the locals in the last act, and Memphis was able to achieve its 20th victory of the season without having forced (112-128).
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– The Grizzlies’ first quarter. There are evenings like this when everything goes well, between a coherent defense and an attack that unfolds! This is undoubtedly what the Grizzlies felt in this first quarter completed at 43 points, with arrows from Desmond Bane, Scotty Pippen Jr, Marcus Smart, each twice. But it was when Jaren Jackson Jr. failed to mix things up and finally found Jake LaRavia off balance in the corner and the latter threw a prayer at the 24-second buzzer to end the first quarter, that the Grizzlies must have told themselves that nothing could happen to them in this match. And that's what happened…
– De'Andre Hunter, alone against all. Atlanta's luxury sixth man gave everything to at least try to save face for his Hawks. Author of 26 points despite a lack of external skill (1/5), he fought like hell, and even had to grit his teeth after seeing his left ankle square when Brandon Clarke fell on him above. The winger didn't give up and returned to the field to finish hard, building on the momentum of his last match in San Antonio.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
