Even without stars Ja Morant and
Jaren Jackson Jr., the Memphis Grizzlies routed the Dallas
Mavericks 120-103 Tuesday night on the road at American Airlines
Center in Dallas.
A day after announcing that
Morant would miss the rest of the season due
to a torn labrum, the Grizzlies came out firing on all cylinders.
From start to finish, Memphis looked like the better team, shooting
48% from the field, 38% from three-point range and 86% from the
charity stripe.
The Grizzlies dominated the
boards too, grabbing 60 rebounds as a team compared to the
Mavericks’ 41, while also having a plus-7 advantage in the assists
department (27-20).
The Mavericks are relatively
healthy and just had arguably their biggest win of the season
against the West-leading Minnesota Timberwolves two nights ago,
which is why this win is so impressive for Memphis.
Desmond Bane led the Grizzlies’
charge sans his star teammates with 32 points, 9 rebounds and 4
assists. Marcus Smart filled in at point guard, contributing 23
points and knocking down 4 threes. The Grizzlies improve to 14-23
after their third-straight win, but they are still No. 13 in the
Western Conference.
The Mavs’ dynamic duo of Luka
Doncic and Kyrie Irving were splendid, scoring 33 and 31
respectively, but the rest of the the team combined for 39 points
as Dallas dropped to No. 7 place in the West at 22-16.
