Insider Insights: GG Jackson II & Matthew Hurt Highlight the Grizzlies’ Effort Against the Kings

The Grizzlies gave the Kings all they could handle and led with four minutes remaining in the game before they ran out of gas.

With eleven players out due to injury, the Grizzlies announced the signing of Matthew Hurt from the Memphis Hustle to a 10-day contract to meet the league minimum of eight available players for this game. This development led to their NBA-leading 27th different starting lineup this season and 13th different starting lineup in January with Scotty Pippen Jr., David Roddy, Santi Aldama, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Xavier Tillman Sr.

The short-handed Grizzlies scored the first six points of the game and made seven of their first 10 shot attempts to take an early 19-8 lead. The Grizzlies then proceeded to miss their next six shot attempts and the Kings capitalized off three Grizzlies turnovers to cut their deficit 19-14. However, the Grizzlies made seven of their 10 first-quarter three-point shot attempts and used a 14-4 run to take a 33-18 lead to end the first.

The Kings missed their first 12 three-point shot attempts before Malik Monk broke their streak at the 9:28 mark of the second quarter as the Kings cut the Grizzlies lead down to eight at 36-28 early in the quarter. After the Grizzlies extended their lead back to 12 points, the Kings thrived on 2nd Chance Points to use a 15-7 run to cut the Grizzlies lead to 50-47 at the half.

The Kings’ comeback attempt finally led to them taking the lead as they used an 11-0 run to take a 67-62 lead after the Grizzlies led by six on two different occasions early in the third. The Kings remained ahead for the rest of the quarter as the Grizzlies stayed within striking distance trailing 75-71 to end the third quarter.

Jaren Jackson led the charge as the Grizzlies began the fourth quarter on a 14-6 run to help the Grizzlies regain the lead 85-81 with 8:43 remaining. After a couple of tied scores, the Grizzlies led by four again at 92-88 before the Kings responded with a 7-0 to take the lead for good and pulled off the win 103-94.

In a game that felt over before it started but brought some surprises, here are some takeaways:

GG Jackson II’s Increased Opportunity

Coming off an 18-point performance against the Indiana Pacers the day before, GG Jackson II’s role increased against the Sacramento Kings. The Grizzlies’ plethora of injured players increased with John Konchar, Ziaire Williams, and Vince Williams Jr. missing this game and that paved the way for GG Jackson II to have a prime opportunity to showcase his talent in a truly expanded role off the bench.

GG Jackson II entered the game at the 4:54 mark of the first quarter and instantly made an impact with a defensive rebound followed by an assist to Xavier Tillman Sr. on the offensive end. Although he missed his only shot attempt in the first quarter he made an impact by grabbing three rebounds and moving the ball on offense to help the team continue their hot streak to start the game.

GG got on the board in the scoring column with a technical foul free throw with 7:58 remaining in the second quarter. He had open looks but couldn’t knock them down as he missed his first six shot attempts. Therefore the first half was one to forget for GG Jackson II in the scoring column but his effort on the boards and flow within the offense led to the Grizzlies being a +8 with him on the floor in the first half.

GG finally got a shot to fall on a loose ball that he took straight to the basket for a reverse layup late in the third quarter and followed it up with his first made three a few moments later. He continued his confidence into the fourth quarter as he made another three in the early moments of the quarter to help the Grizzlies retake the lead.

After an airball shot attempt that led to the Kings tying the score up, GG made a big three-point shot attempt moments later to put the Grizzlies back up by three midway through the fourth quarter. Although this game provided his worst shooting performance (4-14) in a game he has played real minutes in, GG showed the other areas that will help him overcome nights like these with his rebounding (6) and defensive effort. He finished the game with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.

Matthew Hurt’s First NBA Opportunity

Matthew Hurt finally earned an opportunity to sign with the Memphis Grizzlies as the leading scorer in the G League this season. Matthew Hurt has taken his game to the next level in his second season with Hustle averaging 25.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks after averaging 15.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while splitting time with the reigning NBA G League Rookie of the Year in former fan-favorite Kennth Lofton Jr. last season.

The key number in Matthew Hurt’s scoring is that he is shooting 57 percent from the field and 50.6 percent from three. With that said, he showed that shooting ability early in his first minutes with the Grizzlies hitting his first two NBA career shot attempts from the three-point line.

Matthew Hurt’s role was primarily as a spot-up shooter the entire game therefore his performance was tied directly to his shooting ability and making the extra pass on offense. Also, he benefited with a couple of drives to the rim to finish his first career game by scoring 10 points on 3-5 shooting and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes of play.

Start/Stop/Continue

CONTINUE doing whatever they did to get off to that 33-18 first-quarter start. The Grizzlies gave themselves a real shot to pull off the upset with that start and it is something the team has lacked most of this season. Although the Grizzlies only trail by an average of 1.3 first-quarter scoring this season, their league-worst second-quarter scoring was able to withstand the Kings’ run due to their 15-point lead to start.

Coming Up

The Grizzlies get a couple of days off to heal up as they remain home for a back-to-back on Thursday against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Friday against the Golden State Warriors. Both games will be at 7 PM CST.

Final Quote

“We didn’t put too much pressure on ourselves we just went out there and just hooped and it was good” – Xavier Tillman Sr.