The 2021-2022 Memphis Grizzlies (53-23) will be a tough out for any team they face in this year’s playoffs as they keep rolling without it’s superstar young guard JA Morant who missed his fifth straight game with a knee injury.
They didn’t miss a beat.
They defeated the Golden State Warrior’s 123-95 on Monday night giving themselves a five game lead for the second seed out West ahead of the Warrior’s. They were without their top two players in Morant as well as Jaren Jackson Jr. who was out with a thigh injury and they still dominated every statistical category.
This is their 13th win by 25+ points this season.
The game started slow as both teams combined for 36 points as the Grizzlies led 20-16 after the 1st and they both combined to shoot 2-17 from 3-pt. Then the Grizzlies blew the game open in the second quarter outscoring the Warrior’s 43-21 (59% from the field), and they never looked back. The bench was huge once again for the Grizzlies as they scored 52 of the team’s 123.
Grizzlies Coach Taylor Jenkins got balanced contributions from his team without his two top players. No player took more than 15 shots and he had three players score 21+. Desmond Bane led the way with 22 point’s and both Dillion Brooks and DeAnthony Melton both scored 21. Melton also had a huge dunk that got his team and the crowd fired up just before the half over Warrior’s center Kevon Looney.
The shorthanded Warrior’s (48-28) came into tonight’s game without all three of their stars. Steph Curry missed his sixth straight with a foot sprain, Draymond Green sat out for rest as he continues to recover from his back injury, and Klay Thompson just needs rest as he continues to get his feet under him after major knee injuries over the past two seasons.
Jordan Poole led all scorers with 25 points notching his 14 straight game scoring more than 20. Rookies Moses Moody finished with 18 and Jonathan Kuminga scored 14. They welcomed back veteran Andre Igoudala who missed 21 games due to a back injury played 16 minutes and had six points.
It’s hard to compete against any team at this level without three of your top player’s. They know that, but head coach Steve Kerr I’m sure would prefer his team be as healthy as possible heading into the playoffs regardless of where they are in the standings.
The Grizzlies are now 18-2 without Morant this season and the Warrior’s are just 3-9 in Curry’s absence.
Warriors: Host the top seeded Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.
Grizzlies: @ San Antonio on Wednesday.
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