Morant still suspended, but Grizzlies triumph as Warriors’ road woes pile up
Jaren Jackson Jr. matched his season high of 31 points and also contributed 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots to help the Memphis Grizzlies notch a 133-119 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.
Desmond Bane scored 26 points and Dillon Brooks added 18 for the Grizzlies (43-27), who remained tied for second in the Western Conference with the Sacramento Kings. Tyus Jones matched his career best of 14 assists while scoring 13 points without a turnover for Memphis.
Golden State dropped its 11th straight game on the road and is a lowly 7-29 away from home. Jonathan Kuminga scored 24 points and Jordan Poole added 21 for the Warriors (36-36), who lost their third straight game and possess the first play-in spot in the West.
Golden State’s Stephen Curry had just 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting and fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson had 14 on 6-of-17 shooting.
Overall, the Warriors connected on 42.9% of their shots and were 13 of 35 from behind the arc. Draymond Green had 11 points and Kevon Looney scored 10.
Memphis star Ja Morant sat out his eighth straight game, the final one of his suspension for detrimental conduct. He is eligible to play Monday when the Grizzlies host the Dallas Mavericks.
Memphis is 5-3 during Morant’s absence. Jones has recorded 10 or more assists in five of the games while serving as the starter.
Luke Kennard and Xavier Tillman added 14 points apiece and David Roddy had 11 for the Grizzlies.
Curry made a three-pointer to pull Golden State within 115-109 with 7:38 left before the Grizzlies delivered the knockout with 14 consecutive points to boost the lead to 20.
Jackson scored the final 6 points of the run as Memphis evened the four-game season series with the Warriors at two games apiece.
The Grizzlies shot 54.7% from the field and were 18 of 38 from three-point range.
The Warriors trailed by 12 at halftime before pulling within 80-76 on Kuminga’s three-pointer with 7:29 left in the third quarter.
The Grizzlies called timeout and responded with 10 straight points. Brooks and Bane drained three-pointers and Jackson and Jones followed with two-point hoops to increase the margin to 14 with 5:31 remaining.
Poole buried a three-pointer to cap a 17-point quarter to bring Golden State back within 6 points. Memphis led 104-100 entering the final stanza.
Jackson scored 14 points and Brooks and Kennard added 12 apiece as Memphis took a 71-59 halftime lead. Kuminga scored 15 points in the half for Golden State. – Rappler.com