By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
No Ja Morant, no problem.
Fielding a banged-up roster against a healthy Dallas Mavericks team, the Memphis Grizzlies showed they were the hungrier team after crushing their Western Conference rivals, 120-103, last January 10, 2024, in the ongoing NBA regular season.
Memphis already ruled out Morant for the rest of the year due to a torn labrum in his right shoulder that will need season-ending surgery.
Aside from Morant, the Grizzlies also played without six other players including superstar power forward Jarren Jackson Jr., backup swingman Santi Aldama, and former league MVP Derrick Rose due to their respective injuries.
Despite entering the battle with limited personnel, Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins prepared his squad against Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and the rest of the Dallas squad.
Answering the call for the Grizzlies is the duo of Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart who combined for 55 points.
Bane top-scored the Grizzlies with 32 points alongside nine rebounds and four assists while Smart added 23 markers, four rebounds, two steals, and an assist.
Memphis quickly asserted their dominance on the Mavericks as early as the first half after establishing a 15-point lead.
Despite the heavy scoring of Dallas’ dynamic duo of Doncic and Irving, Memphis was still able to keep up in the scoring department and entered the final frame with momentum as they swelled their lead to 20 points.
Dallas tried to salvage one final run after keeping their core inside the playing court but Memphis’ defense slowed down the game and neutralized the Mavericks’ ability to score in spurts.
The Grizzlies also played a better team effort as they out-assisted the Mavericks, 27-20, and bullied them in the rebounding department, 54-33.
Memphis will look to extend its winning streak on January 13, 2024, as they will challenge the Los Angeles Clippers while Dallas seeks to bounce back against the New York Knicks on January 12, 2024.
