Dribbles on Grizzlies’ 132-125 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
1) Coach Taylor Jenkins on the loss, “We had a terrible start to the game. Very unacceptable on our part. Not reflective of who we are. So we’ve got to get better there. Great fight for the majority of the game, winning the last three quarters, but you can’t come up 40-plus points in the first quarter and dig yourself out of that hole.”
Jenkins added, “And then, a bad ending where multiple offensive rebounds, you have a chance to win a ballgame. Those were losing plays. You can’t have those.”
2) Jonas Valanciunas finished with his 38th double-double with a career tying 34 points, 22 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
3) Memphis set single-game franchise records with 88 points in the paint and 30 second-chance points in the loss.
4) Known Griz killer Caris LeVert led the Pacers with 34 points off of 14-20 from the field, as the Pacers improved to 25-27 on the season.
5) Malcolm Brogdon had his way with the Grizzlies with a near triple-double, finishing with 29 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds while shooting 10 of 21 from the field.
6) Indiana shot 13-37 from the 3-point line while holding Memphis to 6-20 from beyond the arc.
7) Ja Morant added 23 points and six assists as the Grizzlies fell to 26-25 on the season.
Morant said after the game, “Nobody likes to lose, especially when you are a possession away from the game. We need to be mad at our effort at the beginning of the game. We started off slow. We allowed them to score 40-something points in the first quarter.”
Morant continued, “I feel like that is unacceptable, and we have to be better in that area, on defense. The positive side is that I am proud of our fight to move on to the next play and to be in the position to still win the game.”
8) Domantis Sabonis also had a near triple-double for the Pacers with 18 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists.
Up Next
The Grizzlies will host the Chicago Bulls on Monday night at FedExForum at 8 pm CT.
