A hot shooting, stingy Memphis Grizzlies squad strolled to a 144-93 win after outscoring the Golden State Warriors by 31 points in the first half at the FedEx Forum on Thursday, Dec. 19.
“I thought they came out with a great mentality, and honestly, a lot of this started yesterday… I thought our guys had a great priming practice yesterday and came in with the right focus in the morning,” said Grizzlies Coach Taylor Jenkins. “Obviously, [the team] came out and executed the game plan really, really well. I mean, defensively, I thought we were phenomenal.”
Memphis’ record improves to 19-9, second place in the Western Conference behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was the Grizzlies’ 13th home win of the year.
Much of the Grizzlies’ scoring was done from deep. Memphis hit seven three-point shots in the first quarter alone, including a Santi Aldama shot as the first quarter was ending to give the Grizzlies a 37-15 lead.
Aldama led all scorers with 21 points on 8-16 from the field. He also shot 50% from deep, hitting five of 10. The power forward is averaging 13.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and three assists off the bench in 27 games this season.
Memphis hit 27 of 48 three-point attempts on the night, for a blistering 56.3% rate.
By the end of the third quarter, the game was out of reach after Memphis outscored the Warriors 40-19. They entered the fourth quarter with a commanding 109-59 lead.
Jake LaRavia provided further spark in reserve with 19 points, along with six boards. He is averaging 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds for the season. In November, the Grizzlies declined the forward’s fourth-year rookie option.
Meanwhile, three-point specialist Luke Kennard hit five of seven from deep to chip in 15 points off the pine.
Memphis’ reserves have been a mainstay all season, with multiple backups routinely providing double digit scoring. Tonight was no different. The Grizzlies’ reserve unit totaled 82 points.
“I mean, when you are talking about the depth, I think it is our attention to detail,” praised Aldama. “They do such a great job, and in a game like this, it’s important because that’s the difference between winning the game by a lot or maybe giving them some life.”
There was little worry of that. The typically dead-eye Warriors hit only 12 of 36 from deep for a pedestrian 33.3%. Moreover, Stephen Curry – widely regarded as the greatest shooter in NBA history – finished with only two points after going 0-6 from beyond the arc.
Curry was primarily guarded by Jaylen Wells, who added 13 points.
The perennial All-Star wasn’t the only point guard to have a statistical off night.
Ja Morant finished with nine points and three assists, along with two steals and two blocks in 20 minutes of play. However, he also held Dennis Schroeder to 5 points. The Warrior’s guard was recently traded from the New Jersey Nets.
“It’s kind of what gets us going. I felt like my energy and effort were there on the defensive end,” said Morant. “We were a better team defensively. Our guys turned it up a notch. When I make plays, whether to steal the ball or block the shot, guys feed off of that. Once we’re all locked in offensively, you see what type of team we can be.”
Morant’s minutes were cut short after he fell awkwardly during third quarter play. He is currently nursing a sore back and was listed as questionable going into the game.
Fellow Memphis starter Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 15 points and added six rebounds. Prior to the game, the power forward and Ja Morant were tied with a 22 points per game average to lead the team.
Forward Andrew Wiggins was the only starter to reach double figures for the Warriors, with 19 points.
Memphis travels to Atlanta on Saturday, Dec. 21, to face the Hawks. Their next game in Memphis is against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, Dec. 23. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at the FedEx Forum.
