The Grizzlies sneak away from the Spurs with a 113-109 victory

The Memphis Grizzlies have had bad luck away from the FedExForum this season as they are 0-3 on the road.  Tonight, they will look to change that as they battle the San Antonio Spurs in Texas.  If they win this evening, it will also put an end to a two-game losing streak.

The Spurs, on the other hand, are hoping to avoid a second consecutive loss tonight.  They are coming fresh off of a 135-115 blowout loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday.  This game will mark the first of four matchups between these two ball clubs this season.

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY:

The Memphis Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs have met up a grand total of 119 times in the past as the Spurs won 89 games while the Grizzlies came away with only 30 victories.

INACTIVES:

Memphis Grizzlies:

-Grayson Allen (ankle; 7.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.6 APG, 31.4 FG%, 26.3 3P%)
-Bruno Caboclo (coach’s decision; 3.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.6 APG, 41.4 FG%, 18.2 3P%)
-De’Anthony Melton (coach’s decision; 2.8 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 1.3 APG, 33.3 FG%, 20.0 3P%)
-Andre Iguodala (personal)
-Yuta Watanabe (G-League)
-Josh Jackson
-John Konchar (G-League; 0.0 PPG, 0.0 RPG, 0.0 APG)

San Antonio Spurs:

-DeMarre Carroll (coach’s decision; 3.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.8 APG, 40.0 FG%, 40.0 3P%)
-Chimezie Metu (coach’s decision; 2.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 0.7 APG, 37.5 FG%)
-Lonnie Walker (coach’s decision; 0.8 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 0.2 APG, 18.2 FG%, 0.0 3P%)
-Keldon Johnson
-Drew Eubanks (G-League; 0.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 0.0 APG, 0.0 FG%)
-Quinndary Weatherspoon (G-League)
-Luka Samanic

GAMETIME:

The beginning of the game would be held close as the Spurs shot forty-five percent from the field while the Grizzlies shot fifty-one percent.  LaMarcus Aldridge chalked up 12 points while grabbing two rebounds, dishing off two assists, and committing one steal.  DeMar DeRozan helped out with ten points while shooting sixty-two percent.  He also had six rebounds and four assists.

Former Denver Nuggets forward Trey Lyles had seven points while knocking down a three-pointer in the first quarter.  Dejounte Murray scored four points while recording six rebounds, one assist, and one block.  Bryn Forbes had a three-pointer in the middle of the first quarter.  Patty Mills played the most minutes off the bench as he had seven points.

On the other end of the court, Jaren Jackson scored 15 points which included 3 three-pointers.  Dillon Brooks gave 12 points on seventy-one percent shooting while Jonas Valanciunas also shot seventy-one percent from the field, scoring 10 points.  Both Ja Morant and Jae Crowder were kept to just two points each.  Tyus Jones played 11 minutes off the bench as he had two points, as well, but the Grizzlies still went into the locker room with a 57 to 54 lead.

Both teams would still play it close in the second half as the Grizzlies shot fifty percent from the field while the Spurs shot forty-six percent.  Forbes had 11 more points while hitting 3 three-pointers and grabbing one defensive rebound.  Rudy Gay gave ten points while recording six rebounds and two assists.

Aldridge scored seven more points as he got his hands on two rebounds.  DeMar DeRozan was held to just two points on fourteen percent shooting.  Both Dejounte Murray and Trey Lyles were kept scoreless in the second half while Mills had two points.  Derrick White played the most minutes off the bench as he had twelve points.

As for the visiting team, both Jackson and Brooks earned nine points each.  Jonas Valanciunas contributed with eight points and eight rebounds while Ja Morant scored seven more points.  Tyus Jones played 11 minutes off the bench but only had six points as the Grizzlies held on for a 113-109 win.  Jaren Jackson finished the game with 24 points, 6 rebounds, a career-high five assists, one steal, and one block.  LaMarcus Aldridge settled for 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and two steals.

So…what’s next?

The Memphis Grizzlies will travel to North Carolina to battle Devonte’ Graham (17.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 7.6 APG, 40.9 FG%, 42.5 3P%) and the Charlotte Hornets (4-6) on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.  The San Antonio Spurs will head to Minnesota to take on Andrew Wiggins (25.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.3 APG, 47.3 FG%, 33.8 3P%) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (6-4) on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.

The Heat come back to defeat the Grizzlies, 120-101

With the new acquisition of Jimmy Butler, who joined the Miami Heat via a sign and trade with the Philadelphia 76ers in a four-team trade, the Heat will look to get back into playoff form this season.  Even though the Heat are now without Dwyane Wade, who retired at the end of last season, their hopes to become a championship are still high.  The South Beach team is also without Hassan Whiteside, who was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers this offseason.

The Memphis Grizzlies stayed quiet during the offseason.  Their only trade was Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz in return for Grayson Allen, Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, and draft rights to Darius Bazley.  With the team in the process of rebuilding, they will hope to grab a win at the American Airlines Arena tonight.

INACTIVES:

Memphis Grizzlies:

-Solomon Hill (coach’s decision)
-Andre Iguodala (not with the team)
-Yuta Watanabe (G-League)
-Josh Jackson (not with the team)
-John Konchar (G-League)

Miami Heat:

-Jimmy Butler (not with the team)
-Dion Waiters (team suspension)
-James Johnson (conditioning)
-Udonis Haslem (wrist)

GAMETIME:

The Memphis Grizzlies would have the slight upper hand in the first half as they ended up shooting fifty-one percent from the field while the Miami Heat shot forty-one percent.  Jaren Jackson scored 11 points in the first half while collecting two rebounds.  Rookie guard Ja Morant helped out with ten points on seventy-one percent shooting.  Jae Crowder had eight points which included a three-pointer in the middle of the second quarter.  Serbia-native Marko Guduric played the most minutes off the bench but only had five points.

As for the South Beach ball club, Justise Winslow chalked up 12 points while shooting forty percent from the field.  He also racked up four assists, one steal, and one block while Bam Adebayo recorded nine points and nine rebounds.  Rookie Kendrick Nunn helped out with eight points on fifty percent shooting.  Goran Dragic played fifteen minutes off the bench as he had six points but it was the visiting team who went into the locker room with a 60 to 54 lead.

The Heat would turn it up in the second half as they went on a huge 66-41 run, shooting fifty-three percent from the field.  During that run, Nunn added to his impressive scoring with 16 more points which held a three-pointer in the fourth quarter.  Winslow saw to it that he had 15 more points, along with five rebounds and three assists.  Chris Silva played the most minutes off the bench as he had eight points.

On the other end of the floor, Jackson chalked up six more points while shooting a very low thirty-three percent.  Jonas Valanciunas was held to two points while Morant had four more points.  Tyus Jones played the most minutes off the bench but was kept to just six points as the Heat came back to defeat the Grizzlies, 120-101.  Justise Winslow finished the game with 27 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, one steal, and one block while Jaren Jackson had 17 points, 3 rebounds, one steal, and two blocks.

So…what’s next?

The Memphis Grizzlies will host Lauri Markkanen (35.0 PPG, 17.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 52.0 FG%, 14.3 3P%) and the Chicago Bulls (0-1) on Friday at 8:00 p.m.  The Miami Heat will travel to Wisconsin to battle the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.