NBA: Grizzlies pull away in fourth quarter, blast Bulls
FILE–Jaren Jackson Jr. #13 of the Memphis Grizzlies. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images/AFP
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to help ignite a pivotal, 32-14 period for the Memphis Grizzlies en route to a 104-89 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.
Chicago — coming into Memphis on a three-game winning streak and playing the second leg of a back-to-back — erased a 10-point halftime deficit thanks to a 36-23 third quarter. The teams went back and forth for the first five minutes of the final period before the Grizzlies went on a decisive 10-0 run.
Article continues after this advertisementThe burst was part of a longer 22-7 surge that spanned the game’s final 7 1/2 minutes.
Jackson led the charge with support from Ja Morant, who finished with a game-high 34 points, and Brandon Clarke, who came off the bench for 13 points — seven in the fourth quarter. Clarke also grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds, while teammate Desmond Bane scored 17 points.
Clarke scored three field goals in the final period all right at the rim, doing his part in Memphis’ 54-34 edge in points in the paint.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Grizzlies also enjoyed a significant advantage with 18 points scored off Chicago’s 20 turnovers. Memphis gave the ball away 14 times, which the Bulls could only convert into eight points.
Nikola Vucevic led Chicago, playing without DeMar DeRozan (hip), scoring 28 points and pulling down a game-high 17 rebounds. Zach LaVine added 24 points. Ayo Dosunmu was the only other Chicago scorer to finish in double figures, winding up with 14 points.
The Grizzlies had lost three in a row and eight of the past nine before Tuesday.
Memphis’ offense fell short of its season average of 116.0 points per game for the sixth consecutive game and the eighth time in the past nine outings.
The 89 points that the Grizzlies yielded, however, marked the lowest total for a Memphis opponent this season. Memphis held the Bulls to 32-of-87 shooting from the floor (36.8 percent), including 7-of-35 success (20 percent) from 3-point range.
The Grizzlies shot 39-for-81 (48.1 percent) from the floor and 11-for-33 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range.
