NBA: Minus Ja Morant, hot Grizzlies beat Pelicans
Photo from the Memphis Grizzlies’ Twitter
Tyus Jones scored 27 points and the visiting Memphis Grizzlies won their sixth consecutive game by defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 121-109 on Tuesday night.
The Grizzlies overcame the absence of Ja Morant (ankle) to win for the ninth time in 10 games. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 23 points, Brandon Clarke scored 18, Steven Adams added 14 points and 13 rebounds, De’Anthony Melton scored 13 and Desmond Bane had 11 before fouling out.
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) February 16, 2022
CJ McCollum scored 30 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 19, Brandon Ingram had 18, Jaxson Hayes 13 and Willy Hernangomez 12 to lead the Pelicans.
Memphis, which reached the 120-point total for the sixth straight game, outrebounded New Orleans 49-34.
23 points.
7 rebounds.
1 block.
1 steal.in tonight's win for @jarenjacksonjr pic.twitter.com/ZfKDLyIv3t
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) February 16, 2022
The Grizzlies evened the series at one win each. The Southwest Division rivals will meet twice in Memphis after the All-Star break (March 8 and April 9).
Memphis led by 12 points at halftime and the margin stayed between 10 and 14 points for most of the third quarter.
Jones’ 3-pointer expanded the lead to 87-70 before McCollum scored four straight points.
The Pelicans got within 13 three more times before McCollum’s three-point play trimmed the lead to 93-83 at the end of the third quarter.
Memphis scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, but the Pelicans closed within 106-98 on Ingram’s dunk midway through the quarter.
The Grizzlies scored the next three points and built the lead to 116-102 with 2:12 left.
Memphis, which had scored 30-plus points in the first quarter of each of its last nine games, easily kept that streak alive. It led by 10 points on three occasions in the first quarter, including a 37-27 edge at the end of the period.
The Grizzlies have outscored their last five opponents by a combined 189-112 in the first quarter.
Memphis took its biggest lead of the half, 62-42, after Jones made two free throws, but McCollum scored five of New Orleans’ last 11 points to trim the lead to 65-53 at halftime.
