The Memphis Grizzlies own the NBA’s third-best record and have turned into an offensive juggernaut in recent weeks, with a matchup against the league’s worst team providing an opportunity to keep that hot streak going.
Memphis has won three straight and six of its past seven games in advance of a three-game road trip that begins at Detroit on Thursday.
The Grizzlies completed a four-game season series sweep of the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, rolling to a 135-109 victory. Memphis scored 135 points for the second consecutive game and hasn’t scored fewer than 115 points over the past seven games.
“It’s pretty much being locked in,” point guard Ja Morant said. “That just shows how good of a team we are.”
Morant led the onslaught against the Clippers with 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists in just 26 minutes. He has reached the 30-point mark in nine of the past 10 games, bumping his season average two full points per game to 26.5.
Jaren Jackson Jr. dominated inside for the Grizzlies with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while also playing just 26 minutes. Jackson is averaging 24.3 points and 9.0 rebounds during a three-game winning streak.
“When he’s that dominant, it forces teams to overhelp,” Morant said. “His playmaking has gotten way better for us on the floor. He’s just making the right plays and also being a monster on the defensive end as well.”
The Grizzlies own a 38-18 record, better than any team in the Eastern Conference, with only Phoenix and Golden State ahead of them in the Western Conference standings.
Jackson has been impressed with the team’s consistency. Memphis has won 19 of its past 23 games in a run that came on the heels of a three-game losing streak just before Christmas.
“We’ve played a lot of games, so at this point, you have tired legs,” Jackson said. “Anything can be going on, but you just have to stay locked in. That’s really the secret at this point. The teams that can keep their energy up the longest in these games without losing focus and thinking about how many games we’ve played are usually going to win.”
Memphis had no trouble disposing of the Pistons in the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 6. Morant had 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 25 minutes as the Grizzlies romped 118-88. Detroit shot 34.3 percent from the field, gave up 70 points in the paint and got outrebounded 61-39.
The Pistons will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak after falling at Dallas 116-86 on Tuesday. Detroit has lost nine of 10.
The Pistons watched the Mavericks shoot 50.6 percent overall, while making half of their 36 3-point attempts. Hamidou Diallo led the Pistons with 18 points and five rebounds.
Detroit shot 37.9 percent from the field and made just five of 30 3-point attempts. Reserve Killian Hayes committed eight turnovers.
“They were into us on both ends and, on top of that, they were shooting lights out,” Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said. “Some of the mistakes we were making, it was like, ‘What are we doing?’
“Dallas is a very good team. Make no mistake. They’ve got an MVP candidate (Luka Doncic) who affects everything. He picked us apart when we tried to blitz him. We just couldn’t stay in front of him no matter who we put on him.”
The Pistons were missing starting guard Cade Cunningham, who sat out his fourth straight game due to a right hip pointer. He remains listed as day to day.
–Field Level Media
