The Grizzlies finally woke up

“Home Sweet Home” for the Grizzlies who take advantage of this homecoming to end a five-game losing streak. Following Ja Morant’s triple-double (27 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds), Memphis won with a score of 112-110 after being 19 points behind the Pacers.

Since the Grizzlies got the game from the wrong end, Bennedict Mathurin could not be stopped, author of 12 points in two minutes to give a 15 point advantage at the beginning of the 2nd quarter (38-23). Memphis was unrecognizable, and Indiana asserted that Andrew Nembhard and Isaiah Jackson signed an alley-oop to take a 19-point lead (56-37). With four minutes left in the first half, the Fedex Forum was stunned.

Ja Morant chose a moment to come out of his box. Transparent until then, he took the fight himself, with drives, a tap and then he sent Jaren Jackson Jr to dunk.

At the break, the Grizzlies trailed by just 12 points (62-50). The trend was confirmed in the return from the locker room with a more aggressive defense and a Ja Morant in the oven and on the grinder. We only see him, and he was involved in 12 of the Grizzlies’ 14 points in a row (68-66). Everything had to be reorganized for the Pacers, but the waves followed each other and at the very end of the 3rd quarter, David Roddy finally gave the Grizzlies the lead (80-79).

Straddling the two quarters, Memphis signs a 9-0 to take off (87-79) and only one player tries to resist, it’s still Mathurin. As in the first half, he was on fire and he scored 12 points in a row! It was “hooray basketball” and the Grizzlies collective made the difference to take a 10-point lead (99-89). Since the “stops” could not be chained, Indiana would not take the score, and on the contrary Jackson Jr and Morant covered Mathurin and TJ McConnell to ensure the victory (112-100). The first of five games.

WHAT YOU SHOULD REMEMBER

– A tribute to Tire Nichols. Before the meeting, the Grizzlies public, players and coaches observed a minute of silence in honor of Tire Nichols, who was killed by five police officers from Memphis. Emotions ran high, and it undoubtedly weighed on the Grizzlies’ lackluster start to the game.

– The home series. It’s been a month since the Grizzlies lost at home, 8 straight. Second in the West, Ja Morant’s teammates have the best record in the NBA at home with 21 wins for 3 losses.

TOPS/FLOPS

✅ Yes Morant. Like all his teammates, he took 20 minutes to get into his match, but then we saw him. It really clicked at the end of the first half, and he notched his 5th triple-double of the season.

✅ Jaren Jackson Jr. The Grizzlies’ center responded to the controversy with his home stats with a game-high 28 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks. Indiana broke his teeth in the second half.

✅ Benedict Mathurin. A pure scorer who signed two streaks of 12 points in a row in the same match! Aggressiveness to spare.

⛔TJ McConnell. 0 points, 5 stray bullets. The Pacers point guard didn’t feel comfortable against Ja Morant after Tyus Jones. His worst game of the season.

THE FOLLOWING

Memphis (32-18): hosts Portland on Wednesday.

Indiana (24-28): welcoming the Lakers on Tuesday.