Dillon Brooks got the final laugh in his first game back in Memphis in another uniform as he finished with 26 points as the Rockets defeated the Grizzlies 103-96.
The Grizzlies started the game with their 12th different starting lineup of the season with the return of Desmond Bane and Vince Williams Jr. replacing David Roddy. This also marked the third straight game they changed their starting lineup.
Vince Williams Jr. didn’t disappoint as he secured a steal on the Grizzlies’ first defensive possession and followed it up with an assist to Jaren Jackson Jr. for the game’s first points and a three on the Grizzlies second offensive possession to gain an early 5-0 lead. That energy resonated with the rest of the starting unit as the Grizzlies extended their lead to 18-5 on 61.5% shooting. The Grizzlies then continued to ride that wave through the end of the first quarter as they led by as many as 17 points on their way to a 29-14 lead.
The Rockets began the second quarter slowly closing the gap by consistently forcing their will by getting to the rim and forcing fouls on the Grizzlies and closing the deficit to single-digits at 37-28 and again at 42-33. The nine-point deficit was the magic number that the Houston Rockets couldn’t get past as the Grizzlies kept responding to each run and took a 55-45 lead into the half.
Both Desmond Bane and Bismack Biyombo had near double-doubles at the half as Bane finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds and Biyombo finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds. Both Vince Williams Jr. and Santi Aldama had 8 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. led the team with 13 points at the half. However, Derrick Rose left the game with Hamstring Soreness and did not return.
To begin the third quarter, the Rockets finally broke through the nine-point hurdle as they cut the Grizzlies lead to 55-47 at the beginning of the quarter and then later cut it to four points at 59-55 after a three from Dillon Brooks. Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks then traded baskets as Bane hit back-to-back threes with a Brooks layup sprinkled in between as the former teammates tried to outduel each other.
The Rockets eventually took the lead at 72-70 with 1:45 minutes remaining in the third quarter and kept it as they ended the third quarter leading 75-74. The Grizzlies got outscored 30-19 in the third quarter as nobody outside of Desmond Bane could buy a basket.
The Rockets began the fourth quarter extending their lead to 83-78 as the defensive slugfest continued. The Grizzlies cut their deficit to 88-87 with the ball with a chance to take the lead, but Dillon Brooks had revenge on his mind as a turnover by the Grizzlies followed by back-to-back baskets by Brooks extended the Rockets’ lead to 92-87 with 3:41 remaining.
However, after a timeout by the Grizzlies, they responded with a 7-2 run to tie the game at 94 after an and-1 by Jaren Jackson Jr. but Fred Vanvleet responded with a midrange shot followed by two defensive stops and a dagger three by none other than Dillon Brooks.
The Grizzlies shot 40% to the Rockets 36% but the Rockets shot nearly 38% from three and 28-32 from the free throw line as opposed to the Grizzlies 27.5% shooting from three and 11-15 free throw shooting.
Now for the main takeaway:
Jaren Jackson Jr.’s 40-Point Scoring Run Comes to an End
Jaren Jackson Jr. entered this contest scoring 40 plus points in back-to-back games including his career-high of 44 points against this same Houston Rockets team just two nights prior. He began this matchup where he had left off on his recent stretch by being aggressive on the offensive end as he scored seven first-quarter points in a variety of different ways including taking advantage of nearly every mismatch on him in the post.
He continued that aggression into the second quarter attacking the basket constantly and forcing foul calls as he got to the free-throw line three times in the quarter. His overall shooting percentage suffered as he couldn’t buy a three-point shot but he finished the first half with 13 points on 50% shooting from two and shot 3-4 from the free throw line.
The third quarter provided much of the same as Jaren continued to be much more effective inside of the three-point line than outside of it as he shot 0-6 from three but foul trouble eventually derailed him in the third as he went to the bench with 4 fouls with under 2 minutes remaining in the quarter.
The absence of Derrick Rose after the second quarter seemed to affect Jaren’s effectiveness for the rest of the game as it got away from the Grizzlies. Foul trouble didn’t help as the game slowed down significantly, which helped limit Jaren’s effectiveness as well. Jaren did continue his 20-point game streak at 6 games with 22 points but shot 0-7 from three and 8-23 overall as the Grizzlies fell to 0-3 against the Rockets this season.
Start/Stop/Continue
START preparing to figure out how to get Vince Williams Jr.’s two-way contract converted to an NBA roster spot. He has been the developing bright spot in a season where the team has struggled to find contributing players consistently. His numbers don’t do his impact justice but his Per 36 Minutes average out to be 11.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1 block on 44% shooting from the field which includes shooting 37.5% from three. His defense is his calling card and he has received praise from Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic as he has been tasked with guarding him and other stars like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, etc. The Grizzlies still have some time to figure out how to create the roster space to convert his two-way into a roster spot but it shouldn’t be a hard decision when that time comes.
Coming Up
The Memphis Grizzlies look to end their 4-game losing streak as they hit the road to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder on Monday at 7 PM CST before the anticipation of the return of Ja Morant ends as he makes his debut in New Orleans on Tuesday at 6:30 PM CST.
Final Quote
“Christmas is early” – Jaren Jackson Jr. (About Ja Morant’s return)