Fans could be forgiven for being disappointed in the Grizzlies resting both Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke on Friday night against the Milwaukee Bucks. After all, Morant had just done this to poor Aron Baynes in Phoenix, and understandably, they’d want some of that in the home gym. Still, even with Morant out, reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is worth the price of admission.
But just to remind everyone that there’s another young stud on the roster, Jaren Jackson erupted for 43 points – 26 in the third quarter alone – in the Grizzlies’ 127-114 loss on Friday. Jackson went 9 of 15 from the arc — 7 of them in a third quarter where he equaled the Buck’s scoring all by himself.
“There hasn’t been anything like that,” Jackson said of his third-quarter offense, “because everything for a minute was going in for me. I felt just like a crazy rhythm and the basket got bigger.”
The Grizzlies took a 95-90 lead into the final frame, but then MVP happened. “The Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo pumped in 17 of his 37 points int the fourth, including a couple of bombs from the arc — the one dimension he had been lacking in up to this season. Meanwhile, the Bucks defense zeroed in on Jackson, helping them pull away to their 17th straight win.
“We were able to keep our composure, stay together, play together and execute on offense, defend even harder,” said Antetokounmpo, who missed his first game of the season Wednesday night against New Orleans. “It says a lot about this team. It says a lot about how good this team can be, and how good this team is.”
The Grizzlies play again tonight, a rare home back-to-back. Tipoff against the Washington Wizards is at 7 p.m. In the meantime, ace photographer Warren Roseborough got some great shots of the action (see above) and check out my three-point play below:
