The Memphis Grizzlies, led by a triple double of 26 points from Ja Morant and 19 points from the Spanish Santi Aldama, triumphed this Thursday 122-99 against the Milwaukee Bucks and prolonged the difficult moment for Doc Rivers’ team, which only won one of his first five games in the NBA and has lost five in a row.
The Grizzlies recovered in this way after two consecutive defeats, suffered against the Chicago Bulls and against the Brooklyn Nets of Spanish coach Jordi Fernández.
Ja Morant made the difference with 26 points, ten rebounds and fourteen assists and Santi Aldama almost reached the double double with 19 points and nine rebounds, to which he added two assists and a steal.
The Canarian returned to the starting quintet of Taylor Jenkins’ team and connected on seven of his fourteen field goals in 33.06 minutes on the court.
The Grizzlies left the Bucks shaken, for whom another brilliant personal performance by the Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo was not enough, who scored 37 points (17 of 22 from the field), eleven rebounds and four assists.
The double MVP lacked support from his main partner, Damian Lillard who did not exceed four points, with a modest one of ten in field goals. The second best scorer for the Bucks was Brook López, with twelve points
Taylor Jenkins’ team was coming off two very difficult nights. Against the Bulls he blew a 20-point lead in the second period and against the Nets he ended up with up to 22 turnovers.
In addition, in that match Marcus Smart, to his ankle, and Desmond Bane, to his abdominals, were injured, something that will leave them sidelined for several games.
But against the Bucks the Grizzlies had a worthy reaction and controlled the game from start to finish. They were only down on the scoreboard in the opening moments of the match, but they sealed a resounding 14-0 run that gave them a 19-point lead at 36-17.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 37 points (17 of 22 from the field), eleven rebounds and four assists
The Bucks, despite another great personal performance by Antetokounmpo, were unable to contain the Grizzlies in which Ja Morant was already close to the triple double with 21 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
Jenkins’ starting five finished in double figures. Jaren Jackson Jr scored thirteen points, Zach Edey contributed thirteen points and eight rebounds, and rookie Jaylen Wells contributed 16 points and eight rebounds.
In addition, the Grizzlies bench gave a valuable contribution, with 16 points from Scottie Pippen Jr and a double double of eleven points and ten rebounds from Jake LaRavia.
The Grizzlies once again balanced their balance of wins and losses (3-3), while the Bucks do not raise their heads and are now bottom in the East with one win and four losses, accompanied by the modest Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons .
Doc Rivers’ team only won one game, the first of the year, at the Philadelphia 76ers’ field. Since then, he lost against the Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics and Grizzlies.
The Bucks played four of their first five games on the road and will now return to Milwaukee to welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Fiserv Forum, who won their first five games.
#Morant #sends #Aldama #orbit #Bucks
