For the Memphis Grizzlies, the relief that comes with snapping a four-game losing streak will be met with the reality of playing the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The defending NBA champs and No. 1 team in the Western Conference will visit Memphis on Sunday in the finale of a four-game homestand for the Grizzlies. Memphis defeated the Dallas Mavericks 118-104 Friday in an NBA Cup game behind contributions from Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., both of whom had struggled during the team’s losing streak.
Morant, whose public frustration with coach Tuomas Iisalo’s offense had led to a one-game suspension last weekend, had a double-double at halftime and finished with 21 points and 13 assists. Jackson, who attempted only six shots in Wednesday’s loss to the Houston Rockets, had 17 points.
“I was just amped up,” Jackson said. “We were on a run, people were running in transition, we were confident.”
At one point in the second half against Dallas, the Grizzlies built a 35-point advantage, their biggest lead in a game this season. There was some frustration in the Memphis locker room regarding the late second-half letdown that allowed the Mavericks to trim the deficit to 13.
But getting a victory was the ultimate satisfaction.
“It’s great to be back in the win column,” Morant said. “We just got to keep growing and learning from here.”
Morant and Jackson, along with Iisalo, said a Thursday walkthrough practice played a part in Friday being such a success in terms of offensive flow, including better spacing and a better mental approach.
“I thought we just asked the right questions and went over what we were seeing,” Jackson said. “I think everyone left more on the right page.”
Oklahoma City has been on the right page from the opening tipoff to this season. The Thunder improved to 9-1 Friday with a lopsided victory of their own. They defeated Sacramento 132-101 behind 33 points, 19 rebounds, and three blocks from center Isaiah Hartenstein and 30 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Ajay Mitchell posted a double-double of 18 points and 10 assists.
“He’s played great as time has gone on here, he’s gotten better and better with his teammates here and inside the system here,” said OKC coach Mark Daigneault of Hartenstein. “He was obviously not that impactful at the beginning (of his Thunder career last season), but he’s only gotten better, especially on the offensive end of the floor.”
Hartenstein scored the first 10 Thunder points of a 40-point second quarter that gave Oklahoma City a 70-56 halftime lead.
“That group with the double bigs (Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren) gave us a nice lift at the start of the second and the start of the fourth,” Daigneault said. “The size of that unit and the fluidity offensively… they came in and extended leads in both the second and the fourth, which was huge for us.”
Gilgeous-Alexander has been impressed with the play of Hartenstein, whose 33 points Friday were triple his average (10.7) entering the game.
“He did what he does every night, just at a very high level, and the ball rewarded him,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He does a really good job of doing the little things to help get other people open.”
