There was nothing nice about the Grizzlies’ last home game before the holidays, in which they lost 130-122 to a Wizards team with the league’s worst record.
Bah, humbug.
This might be the most demoralizing loss of the season — the basketball equivalent of getting a mountain of coal dumped on your stocking.
It feels like we just got bodied by Santa and all his reindeer.
It started with an already extremely shorthanded Grizzlies team losing big man Brandon Clarke less than four minutes into the first quarter, after he exited the game with a calf injury.
The same Brandon Clarke, who’s been back to action for just two games, after being sidelined with a knee injury since March.
He went almost immediately to the locker room, and shortly after, it was reported that he would not return to the court.
In the 3:52 Clarke played he scored two points, grabbed three rebounds, and made one steal.
Clarke’s exit left Memphis with only eight available players for the rest of the game.
That might have been an omen of what was to come: the Grizzlies blowing a 20-point lead, Washington going on a 22-9 run in the third quarter, and Memphis being outscored 77-54 in the second half.
Despite career nights from Santi Aldama and Cam Spencer, and solid contributions from Jaren Jackson Jr., Cedric Coward, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper, the Grizzlies could not overcome the onslaught from the Wizards in the second half.
Washington forward Kyshawn George scored 24 of his 28 points in the second half.
Not-so-fun fact: Dudes named K. George have killed the Grizzlies in their last two home losses. (Keyonte George put up a season-high 39 points in the 130-126 loss to the Utah Jazz on December 12.)
Noted Grizz-killer CJ McCollum also put up 28 points for the Wizards. Nothing is certain but death, taxes, and CJ McCollum going supernova against the Grizzlies.
The loss overshadowed fantastic play from Santi Aldama and Cam Spencer. Aldama set a new career-high of 37 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, and a career-high for points scored in a single half from his 22 points in the first half.
Cam Spencer took advantage of his time in the starting lineup and put up his first career double-double with 19 points and a career-high 11 assists. It was Spencer’s 11th consecutive game scoring in double figures.
Jaren Jackson Jr. finished the night with 22 points and eight rebounds, with 20 of those points coming in the first half.
Rookie Cedric Coward added 14 points on 5 of 9 overall shooting.
Off the bench, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 11 points along with five assists, and two-way forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper added eight points on a perfect 3 of 3 overall shooting, also with five assists.
I expect the Grizzlies will release an update on Brandon Clarke later this afternoon; hopefully, it will be positive.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies are hitting the road for two back-to-back games before the holiday break. They will face the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, December 22, and the Utah Jazz on December 23. Tip-off for Monday night’s game is at 8:30 PM CST.