The Memphis Grizzlies completed a wire-to-wire win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night at State Farm Arena. This was a highly-anticipated matchup between two of the best point guards in the NBA- Ja Morant and Trae Young. However, both star guards ended up missing this contest due to injury.
Memphis held on to a double-digit lead for the majority of the contest and went up by as much as 29 points in the second half. Atlanta turned the ball over a whopping 25 times, resulting in 18 fewer field goal attempts than the Grizzlies. The Hawks have been playing great defense over the past three weeks, but in these last two contests, the defense has been poor. Memphis dominated the points in the paint, 62-46, and shot 18-41 from deep. Even though the Hawks had a couple of moments of sustained offensive success, they did not stop the Grizzlies’ high-powered offense enough to mount a massive comeback.
Memphis jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead with two early triples from Desmond Bane. The Hawks punched right back with three threes in a 12-4 run, pushing the ball in transition after forcing turnovers. However, the Grizzlies stayed hot from downtown and hit three straight triples to extend their lead to 35-21. Near the end of the first, Jake LaRavia hit a miraculous corner three while falling out of bounds to pour more salt in the wound. Memphis quickly jumped out to a 20-point lead in the second frame and never looked back.
The Grizzlies’ depth was evident throughout this game with seven double-digit scorers. Scotty Pippen Jr. replaced Morant in the starting lineup and put up 22 points and nine assists on 9-12 shooting. Bane went 4-8 from deep with 23 points, eight assists, and four steals, while LaRavia missed one triple in five attempts for 16 points off the bench.
De’Andre Hunter had another strong shooting night- 26 points on 9-14 from the field to lead his squad. Dyson Daniels, who has struggled with his shot lately, went 3-5 from deep for 15 points and collected six assists and six steals. Jalen Johnson had 13 points (4-12 FG), 11 boards, and eight dimes.
With this defeat, Atlanta falls back under .500 at 14-15. They will look to regain good form against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night at State Farm Arena.
